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Post by Ariel Logan Callahan on May 26, 2009 20:08:52 GMT -5
Ariel nodded absently as Markise spoke and looked out across the corridor. He had no clue how well he would fit in in the group, but when had he ever bothered with fitting in? Images popped into his head with each new person, and the last made him think of someone in his brother's group, and there had been one of the guys at the beach that had insisted on bringing a girl with him though they had all made it clear she wasn't wanted. "What did Valentino do?"
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Post by Markise Sterling on May 26, 2009 20:43:19 GMT -5
"He's a rapist," Markise said, his gaze fixed resolutely on the corridor again. It was close enough, even if Markise had enjoyed it at the time. He'd certainly felt dirty after, and within a minute at that. Now that he thought about it, he didn't doubt Valentino could do something like that. He was amazed that they'd been friends so long and he'd never noticed. That was a liar.
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Post by Ariel Logan Callahan on May 26, 2009 20:52:20 GMT -5
Ariel looked over at Markise in surprise, both eyebrows raised. He didn't know what to say to that. Had he done something to Markise? Or had he done something to someone else and Markise found out? Either way, he couldn't believe that the guy was still part of Markise's group if he had done something like that. "I...did he do something to you?" he asked finally.
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Post by Markise Sterling on May 26, 2009 21:04:53 GMT -5
Markise tried not to wince at the question, but wasn't at all successful. He pushed the curl he'd been torturing behind his ear, then almost immediately freed it again to let his hair swing down. He tried to think of a way to answer, but the best he could come up with was a weak, "Not really..." He kept his gaze firmly away from Ariel now. He didn't want to have to tell Ariel how stupid he'd been, or how desperate. He didn't know how to explain how something that had made him feel good had felt so wrong. He told himself Ariel didn't want to know, even though part of him was waiting for a question.
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Post by Ariel Logan Callahan on May 26, 2009 21:30:08 GMT -5
Ariel raised an eyebrow again and just barely kept himself from shifting closer to Markise. "What happened?" he asked. In all the things he had done, he hadn't hurt anyone, well...if he didn't count all those times he had hurt Markise. His eyes dropped momentarily before he looked up again. Maybe he just wanted to know how badly he was allowed to instantly hate this Valentino.
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Post by Markise Sterling on May 26, 2009 21:41:36 GMT -5
Markise glanced almost helplessly aside at Ariel, torn between rationalizing why he should tell and trying to come up with a good enough excuse not to. It took him some moments of discomfort before he couldn't hold it in any longer. "He'd been saying he was curious for years. Just... curious, but we didn't think he'd done anything, he'd never even looked at me until this one night. His cousin worked at a club and the other guys wouldn't go, it was a gay club and... I wanted to know."
Markise brushed his hair back, then freed it yet again before picking a strand to torture. "So he told me he wanted to try, and I was like... just a kiss wouldn't hurt, right?" It was so horribly awkward saying this to Ariel. To anyone really, but Ariel? He shook his head. "I didn't say no," he said softly. He'd already been half ready from the club, and then that kiss and he'd hardly known what he was doing! He hadn't done anything, really, just held on.
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Post by Ariel Logan Callahan on May 26, 2009 21:57:31 GMT -5
Ariel blinked and watched Markise. From what Markise said he didn't see anything wrong with it all, it might have been spur of the moment...but if he had agreed to it, then what was wrong? Or did he just regret it so badly that he made it wrong in his mind? "Did he hurt you?" Ariel felt bad for not thinking it was a big deal, especially when Markise obviously hated the thought of it. There had to be something.
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Post by Markise Sterling on May 26, 2009 22:04:49 GMT -5
Markise shook his head, but he wasn't even sure why. He had been hurt, just not physically. "It just... happened too fast and he was like, yeah thanks, whatever." That couldn't begin to explain it—Valentino had been a friend—but it was the best he could do. Markise brought up his arms, tucking them around himself. "He's a liar, and that can't have been the worst thing he's done." It’s over, don’t think too hard. Come on, let’s get our coats.
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Post by Ariel Logan Callahan on May 26, 2009 22:08:59 GMT -5
Ariel thought for a moment on it, but still, he couldn't figure out why it was a big deal. Not really. But...how many times had he been involved in an encounter like that? How many times had people he knew been involved in encounters like that? It was just...normal for his circle of knowledge. "It...meant something to you," he tried, his eyebrows coming together as he watched Markise.
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Post by Markise Sterling on May 26, 2009 22:15:13 GMT -5
Markise's brows narrowed, and he looked up at Ariel, his eyes flashing a moment of hurt before he looked sharply away again. He gave a light nod of his head. "He was my friend and... if I'd been thinking I would've said no and when he first asked, I didn't want to, not that anyway, but... He didn't even pretend to care. I asked, and he was just like, It’s over, don’t think too hard. I felt like trash." And every time he'd seen him after it had been a reminder, and he couldn't help watching him and seeing how fake he was.
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Post by Ariel Logan Callahan on May 26, 2009 22:18:30 GMT -5
Ariel had immediately dropped his eyes when Markise had looked at him like that. It wasn't his fault that he didn't understand! "I'm sorry," he said, both in response to Markise's words and to the look he had gotten. He scuffed the toe of one shoe on the floor. It was going to be a long summer if he didn't learn how to figure things out quicker.
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Post by Markise Sterling on May 26, 2009 22:28:17 GMT -5
Markise slid one hand free just to wave airily. "It's not your fault," he said softly, then tucked his hand away again. Valentino was one of a few guys who hadn't needed Markise to say yes. "Not the worst thing that's ever happened." Not by a long shot, though it still hurt to think about. Even aside from when he'd come out, Kwami hadn't heard his no, and neither had Larten. He'd been kicked down, belittled, and abandoned so many times that he felt like he must deserve it.
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Post by Ariel Logan Callahan on May 26, 2009 22:34:09 GMT -5
Ariel looked over at Markise, his eyebrows creasing again. It wasn't right. He knew he hadn't been the best to Markise, but he had never done anything to Markise that Markise hadn't wanted or asked for or initiated. He looked down again. It wasn't his responsibility, but he felt like he needed to prove to Markise that he deserved better. Could he even do that?
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Post by Markise Sterling on May 26, 2009 22:46:55 GMT -5
Ariel didn't say anything else, so Markise took the opportunity to try packing everything back down where it belonged. Besides, he wasn't so naive anymore. He knew he couldn't trust people, only a few, and only to a point. He wiped at one of his eyes before pulling a deep breath and letting it out in a soft rush. "So, like, I'm sorry if I'm keeping you or anything," he said. If he didn't look at it, it wouldn't come back. "You don't have to hang around if you've got something better to do."
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Post by Ariel Logan Callahan on May 26, 2009 22:59:38 GMT -5
Ariel shook his head, "It's okay. I don't have anything to do." Besides, he really did like being with Markise, even when they weren't talking. He didn't know what he was thinking right now, he couldn't sort out his thoughts. He was going to be in an apartment with Markise for what, three months? And there was no getting out of it or hiding from each other. It was an incredible opportunity, what if they got back together? Ariel didn't know if that would be a good thing or not. He took a deep breath and glanced over at Markise.
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