Lenny Pierce
August 12, 2023 12:09 AM
Cafe encounter (tag Xavier) by Lenny Pierce
Lenny was not having any luck finding a date in the year groups immediately above and below his own. Flirting with the other intermediates just hadn't been working. He thought maybe he could expand his search parameters to include at least the one guy he knew was interested in other guys. He doubted they were entirely compatable, but they didn't need to get married, he just wanted somebody to go to the ball with."Hey," he greeted Xavier at the next the LGBTQ+ cafe meeting. He wasn't quite sure how to broach the subject. There was enough of an age difference that light flirting and just talking about the ball might not trigger any kind of idea, plus Lenny knew he didn't look like the sort of guy Xavier was probably attracted to, so that was going to work against him, too.
So he decided the upfront approach would work best, and if it didn't work out, at least he'd tried, and he doubted there would be much awkwardness or hard feelings either way. "So, I'm having trouble finding a date because I'm kinda outside the usual boxes, and I know I'm a little young for you, and not what you probably find attractive, but I am a guy, and it's just a dance, so . . . would you have any interest in going to the ball with me, or even just saving a dance or two if you're already going with someone else? I won't be crushed if you say no, but I'd really like it if you said yes." He gave his best sweet smile.
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Lenny Pierce
Cafe encounter (tag Xavier)
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Xavier Lundstrom
August 12, 2023 11:49 PM
Of the unexpected kind by Xavier Lundstrom
The LGBTQIA+ Cafe was going better than Xavier had expected it would upon his return. This was partly down to the extremely low bar he’d set himself. With most of the members graduated, and the fact that he was a known disaster zone who couldn’t manage the basic job of staying alive without a team intervention, he hadn’t been sure the cafe would happen at all.Luckily, Mr. Fox-Reynolds had stepped in. Xavier had been given a lot of support in his first few weeks back, most of it geared towards prodding him through his usual routines so he couldn’t just give up and curl into a ball on his dormitory floor. The librarian had provided a real, physical presence to externalise all his worries of I’m-not-fit-to-do-this, no-one’s-gonna-come, what’s-the-point and to receive calm, measured answers (you are and you have help for anything you can’t deal with, let’s cross that bridge when we come to it, and the point is that this space matters to the wellbeing of others and not letting yourself down matters to your own wellbeing). The presence of an adult had forced him through organising the first couple of meetings, and had then turned into a bonus of its own… Mr. Fox-Reynolds knew stuff. He knew a different era of queer history, and he had done the whole growing up thing and got married and stuff… Rather than just propping Xavier up and not letting him quit, having group discussions with Mr. Fox-Reynolds at meetings had become something of a thing. Which was way more comfortable than just saying it was a social space, seeing as it was basically just Xavier and Lenny plus the occasional ally or curious onlooker.
Mr. Fox-Reynolds didn’t come every meeting, and Xav had basically accepted that he and Lenny now had scheduled hangouts. That was sort of weird but given that Xavier desperately needed any kind of friend, he wasn’t complaining. Lenny was the one who had more of a right to feel like his time was being wasted, but he hadn’t stopped coming. Yet.
Xavier tried to vary the room’s appearance, although the outdoors often featured. He’d been tempted to do a crisp winter park with a coffee stand because that was a perfect combination in his mind, but he’d learnt early on that Lenny was California-level allergic to cold. So, instead, he’d gone for an indoor cafe, its cosy cranked up to maximum, with the snow-encrusted trees safely on the other side of its windows. Of course the cafe wasn’t real (well, none of this was real, but even less so), so he’d had the house elves bring some hot drinks and vegan snacks.
Xav was adding toppings to his own hot chocolate when Lenny sat down and opened up what seemed to be a ‘reasons it sucks to be one of the only queer kids’ conversations. Which abruptly took a turn.
He was asking Xavier out..?
Like, not out out. Just to-the-ball out. But he was asking.
The whipped cream Xav had been spooning up fell back into the bowl with a blompf alerting him to the fact he was not being covert in his surprise.
“I wasn’t expecting you to say that,” he admitted, probably unnecessarily.
What was Xav supposed to say? Lenny said he wouldn’t be mad but no one liked being rejected. If Xav said no, was the whole LGBTQIA+ Cafe going to go under? The obvious thing was just to say ‘yes’ because what other offer was he going to get? It was very much a matter of head vs heart… The logical thing was to go with Lenny. He was right, that they were good options for each other, in a technical-on-paper sort of way. It was better than going alone. And going alone was probably the reality he was looking at if he didn’t go with Lenny. But his heart… Lenny could say it was ‘just a dance’ but it wasn’t. Saying ‘yes’ to Lenny meant giving up hope that someoone else was going to change his stupid, stubborn mind and come around… It wasn’t just the unrealistic thing that it wanted which held him back, though that was a biggest part of it. It was also how very not attractive he found Lenny. Not that that mattered, for a just-a-dance date, but like… the only bit of Lenny that he might be remotely interested in in theory, he very definitely wasn’t in practice because Lenny was a kid. Given that attraction wasn’t a prerequisite for accepting the date, he supposed he didn’t have to delve into the complexities of what it did or didn’t mean to want to date someone like Lenny.
“Someone used to like me,” he sighed, admitting the bigger part of why it was hard to say yes to this. “On a scale of like… zero to ten, how likely is it that someone who never wanted our relationship to be public and hasn’t spoken to me in months is gonna turn around and say we can be ball dates, y’think?” he asked. He knew his phrasing in itself was an answer. But he couldn’t say ‘yes’ without letting go of that little bit of hope out loud.
“It’s SA-Frigging-42. You’d think we’d be further along than two queer kids having to be each other’s default.” He thought about all the conversations they’d had with Mr. Fox-Reynolds… The fact that the two of them could be open enough to know the other was an option, and could go without fighting for that, and could expect it to be a relative non-issue… All of those were supposed to be victories he was grateful for. It was a way that had been paved for him with sweat and protest and sacrifice. All to get him something that wasn’t what he really wanted, and which he felt horribly ungrateful for feeling that way about. But it was true. “We both deserve better. Probably especially you.”
OOC: I also write the librarian so no god-modding.
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Xavier Lundstrom
Of the unexpected kind
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Lenny Pierce
August 17, 2023 9:28 PM
I am full of surprises! by Lenny Pierce
Lenny tried to hide a smile as Xavier's whip cream plooped back into the bowl in the frozen moments of surprise after Lenny had asked his question. "No," he granted, not really having expected to have asked out Xavier either. If he'd asked anyone out, he would have thought it would be a girl. He figured a guy would take the guy role and he'd take the girl role if he went with a guy, and asking was tradionally in the guy's onus. But he'd known Xavier wouldn't. There were so many reasons Lenny wasn't right for Xavier, that the surprise showing on the older student's face was entirely understandable.And Xavier was now talking about one of those reasons. The ex. Lenny was aware that Xavier had been dating somebody and it had ended badly. It had come up obliquely in some of their past discussions.
"Maybe a one?" he ventured. The situation did not sound hopeful, but Lenny was never one to discount anything as impossible.
Lenny nodded in agreement about the less than ideal situation they both found themselves in. It was his only ball. He wanted a date. But of the Intermediates, he was the only openly queer kid. Yarielis might actually be a better match for him than Xavier - Lenny could be the shining example of feminity and Yarielis could try stepping into the role of guy without any pressure - but he was pretty sure he had burned that bridge last year and Yarielis didn't like him very much now. Also Yarielis hadn't come out yet, so . . . that wasn't going to happen anyway.
"I don't have better," he admitted, facing the situation straight-forwardly. Then he winced, realizing how that sounded. "I mean, I'm sure you're a fine person and everything, but I'm looking for someone who will enjoy twirling me around the dance floor, and you're looking for . . . your ex, I guess? D'you think he'd ask you if he thinks you got another date and got jealous? I can go butch for a few days and flirt with you out where he can see us."
OOC: Assuming Lenny knows the general shape of the Xavier and Oz relationship, though probably not too many specifics, given the club is down to the two of them and they've probably discussed dating in a general sense given the topic of the club.
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Lenny Pierce
I am full of surprises!
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Xavier Lundstrom
August 18, 2023 10:15 PM
For a guy who sees the future, there's a lot I don't see coming by Xavier Lundstrom
A one wasn’t a zero. That was something, and Xavier almost appreciated Lenny’s optimism. Except it still didn’t make sense. There was that one piece of the puzzle which, along with his own feelings, meant he couldn’t let go.“But I saw us together. Me and him, I mean. I see the literal future, sometimes in vivid technicolor,” he added. He was pretty sure everyone knew he had special lessons with Professor Duell, and given that Divination wasn’t a wandwork subject, it wasn’t likely to be for the same reasons as he had extra lessons with Professor Wright. Between that and the gossip that he’d made more than one creepily accurate prediction in his time here, he was pretty sure the fact he was a Seer was on the same level as him being gay—it was something people would not assume by default, but something he had made no effort to hide, and only people who were living under rocks would have failed to figure it out by now. “We were together. Older than now, and happy.
“So either… seeing doesn’t work how I thought. But Professor Duell keeps telling me, the more clarity I see things with, the more fixed they are. But even knowing something like that, it’s amazing how little clue I have on how to get there. If I try to control it, I feel manipulative. If I just go with the flow, I feel helpless. Maybe it’s all just this set cause and effect chain and the only thing that’s not fixed is how much I know in advance, which makes it really tempting to keep poking around in the fog. It just makes it hard to give up, but also hard to not obsess over every decision but also hard not to just throw everything to the wind and assume none of it matters.” He took a deep, steadying breath. “You don’t actually have to address any of that. I’m in like… five types of therapy,” he assured Lenny, aware that there had been a bit more in his mouth than he’d been expecting when he opened it.
“I just called us each other’s last resort and then said everything we do in life might be pointless. I agree that you could do better.” Xavier waved Lenny’s apology off. It wasn’t necessary because what he’d said had been true. He’d also gone off on said rants and spirals when all Lenny was trying to do was ask him to the ball. You don’t think about anyone except yourself…
Which made Lenny’s next suggestion twist in his gut, because there was a small part of him that was very tempted.
“No.” It wasn’t healthy. It wasn’t kind or right, even if the idea of Oz swapping him off his feet in a passionate fury was deeply appealing. “I already hurt him enough by accident. I don’t want try doing it on purpose.” Which sounded way more noble a reason than being afraid that Oz just wouldn’t care. “And it’s not fair to you—you’re… not like that.” He wasn’t sure if he meant butch, or interested in flirting with Xav, or just… mean and manipulative. But it would be making Lenny play a part too, and Oz wasn’t exactly known for his even temper and ability to handle his negative feelings. There were so many ways it could backfire… “So, guess I do attach some meaning to my actions.” He kind of had to, otherwise he just slid into the sludge where the only meaning came from more answers or more distance from reality.
“You have my queer solidarity and a dance, at the very least,” he promised Lenny. “Unless you find someone who can offer you better. Got your outfit picked out yet?”
OOC: I think that is erring very generously on the side of ignorance, given that they had a public shouting match, and I don't think the 'my ex' label is hiding anything about who it is, but yes. Xav has probably moped/chatted about relationships a bit with Lenny.
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Xavier Lundstrom
For a guy who sees the future, there's a lot I don't see coming
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Lenny Pierce
August 31, 2023 9:44 PM
The future is tricky like that, always changing by Lenny Pierce
"Right," Lenny nodded along with the explanation of Seer stuff and what Xavier did and didn't Know. "Maybe it's a three then," he offered hopefully. It sounded like Xavier was already getting advice on how to be a seer, so Lenny didn't bring up any of his relatives, none of which were trained as well as Professor Duell anyway, and their professional experience was mostly limited to betting on car and horse racing, which wasn't anything like foretelling how a relationship would turn out or how to cross the intervening distance of time and personal development.Lenny shrugged when Xavier turned down his idea, and his justification made a lot of sense. "I mean, I wasn't suggesting we try to hurt him," he added, in case that hadn't been clear. He was a Teppenpaw, he usually assumed that went without saying, though he guessed suggesting that he flirt with another guy's guy (not that the guy seemed to be being much of a guy right now) might be pushing that line. "Just remind him that you're attractive and he's not the only fish out there if he doesn't get his head out of his butt and step up as a boyfriend."
"Queer solidarity and a dance is good," he confirmed, grinning back that he'd at least get that much out of someone at the ball this year. He was pretty sure he could get friend dances out of at least two girls, but he suspected boys would be harder to convince.
"Yes!" he confirmed excitedly when asked about his outfit being picked out. "Well, almost," he backpedalled. "I have the dress. I brought it back with me after Christmas break. I'm still accessorizing, though. Sort of waiting yet on some final decisions with the ball committee, so I don't blend in too much or completely clash with the theme and decorations. But it's a long A-line in purple, with an optional corset that I'm probably going to use for shaping, since I have nothing going naturally in the breasts department, and I'm still trying to decide if I want to add a magical shimmer to the skirts, or some kind of dancing embroidery. Rosalynn said she'd help with the spell work. And I have no idea what I'm doing with my hair yet."
"Anyway, I'll keep you in the loop if any of my further attempts to secure a date are successful, but it's looking pretty grim at this point. Let me know if there's anything I can do to help with your situation? I could flirt with him? I like flirting. Maybe you'll get lucky and he'll tell me to get lost by saying he's already in a relationship." The chances that a seventh year wouldn't tell a fourth year to get lost were just about zero by his estimation.
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Lenny Pierce
The future is tricky like that, always changing
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