ArchivedLogs:Don't Be Sad

Don't Be Sad
Dramatis Personae Alison, Ivan, Peter, Mel
In Absentia	2013-04-06 It's a rule.
Location <NYC> Tompkins Square Park - East Village
Small but popular, this tree-lined park is a perfect centerpiece to the eclectic neighborhood it resides in. Home to a number of playgrounds and courts from handball to basketball, it also houses a dog park and chess tables, providing excellent space for people watching -- especially during its frequent and often eccentric festivals, from Wigstock to its yearly Allen Ginsberg tribute Howl festival. Peter has been going to /all/ the places today. All of them! But for now, he's decided to take a break with Ivan in Tompkins Square Park -- chatting with him as he strides toward the Village Lofts, babbling away as per usual. The boy's clad in his red hoodie, blue jeans, and a t-shirt that says 'TEACH THE CONTROVERSY' with the devil burying fossils. Also, those absurd glasses of his. And his wrist-watches -- though they are currently tucked underneath his hoodie's sleeves. "...anyway the coccoon setting /kinda/ works, I mean it did that one time, but sometimes it jams up the nozzle, but -- I think I just need to adjust the pressure maybe? Or..." Ivan has been the quieter one of the pair; He has hardly been seen talking to Peter at all, wandering alongside his friend but - more often than not - blankly staring or squinting at people or things around them as though he'd never been outside before. One might think he'd stopped listening if not for the fact that he occasionally narrows his eyes or nods in response. His hands are stuck deep in the pockets of his black wool coat, open to jeans and a a green t-shirt with two yellow stripes and a black, upside-down five pointed star underneath. Ever since he and Peter entered the park, his gaze has been aimed downward at the ground around them, and such is the case now, his eyes /scanning/ the grass for something or another. It's a good thing Peter's there to walk next to, or else Ivan would probably just walk straight into any solid object he came across. Parks are good for clandestine meetings, although one might choose a bigger park for the exchange of information. Nevertheless, Alison and her companion look like something out of a spy movie as they sit on a bench and speak without looking at each other. The blonde is in a pale pink sweater and skinny jeans with pink heels -- not very spy-like, at all. They speak for a few moments more, then the man gets up and moves away, leaving Alison to ponder the conversation in silence. Mel appears from...somewhere (where does a guy that big hide so successfully?), moving onto the path directly into the trajectory of the pair of teens. He may or may not be paying attention. Peter is /more/ than happy to lead Ivan along the path, even going so far as to occasionally give him a tiny nudge here or there to make sure he doesn't blunder into anything (or anyONE!) important. But when the big person suddenly emerges directly in their pathway -- Peter's hand snaps out to snag Ivan's shoulder, giving an appropriate 'whoa whoa' tug. "Pardon!" Peter chirps, quite promptly, as if to let Mel know that there is, indeed, someone in his way. Aaaa /shoulder/. Ivan's response to the shoulder grab seems a little exaggerated, both shoulders poking up with a wince and a grimace in pain. He finally looks up, though, to shoot Peter a confused look to remind him that there are still some /sharkbites/ under that, there. It's only then, however, that he notices the man he was about to walk into, and his eyes widen with a step back, eyes flitting up to Mel's face. Whoa okay yes might not have wanted to walk into that one. Mel turns at the sound from his elbow (he really is huge), and leans forward to STARE at Peter for a moment. "'Syou," he rumbles like thunder, and snorts. "Hyper kid." Then his gaze slides to Ivan, and there's a deep FROWN. "You hyper?" Alison blinks when she hears Mel speak, and turns her head to look at who's received such an honor. Then she's smiling, and pushing to her feet, claiming her purse and hooking it over one shoulder. "Peter!" she calls, and waves as she hurries over. "Don't pay any attention to Mel, darling. He's /paid/ to be scary." She seems a bit confused, though, when she recognizes the other boy. "Ivan?" she says, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "How do you two know each other?" There's -- well, maybe a hint of /defensiveness/ about Peter; a certain way he's slipping between Ivan and Mel, even though at the same time there's not even the slightest edge of hostility to him -- he certainly doesn't look like a /threat/ to Mel. "Ivan oh I'm sorry," he says, and his hand is instantly off Ivan's shoulder, "I totally forgot -- um, oh, hi," Peter adds, glancing Alison's way now, cheeks burning with a hint of color: "We're -- roommates, at school –" If Ivan's shoulders weren't already up and in the ohgoddon'thurtme position, they are when Mel's voice sounds. He /stares/, eyes darting between Peter and Mel, looking completely and utterly clueless. Hyper? He shakes his head, several times, before finally-- there is an Alison. And his deer in the headlights look turns to surprise! ... A surprised deer in the headlights. He offers a wave and a smile that is by all means genuine but maybe looks a little strange underneath an expression of 'please tell him not to kill us'. Mel /might/ be messing with Ivan and Peter when he growls, narrowing his eyes at the two before lifting a V-sign to them and pointing at the pair with a slow nod. Alison rolls her eyes, and pats his arm, nudging him in the direction of the bench. "Roommates?" she asks, frowning. "I didn't even know you were attending Xavier's," she says to Peter. "Do you like it?" She smiles brightly at Ivan, and reaches out to tweak a lock of his hair into place lightly. "You're not letting Ivan be a bad influence on you, are you?" When Mel evaporates, Peter slips back beside Ivan, shrugging up to Alison. "It's pretty awesome, yeah -- I, um, /no/," he responds, a bit more heat hitting his cheeks as he scuffs his shoe against the ground. He throws another glance toward Ivan, then back to Alison, and his eyebrows are /scrunched/ together: "You two know each other?" he asks. There may or may not be a rustle in the grass and foliage around - ever so slight, probably the wind - when that growl sounds. And Ivan may or may not move just a little bit aside so that Peter is even more between him and Mel. He is visibly relieved when the /obvious threat/ moves away, and he feels freer to look at Alison again, timid smile returning as he looks her over, nodding! Yes of course we know each other... wait- bad influence? He briefly looks to Peter as though seriously /pondering/ this. (re) "Ivan and I are old friends," Alison clarifies. "I met him at the Sweetheart Dance in February." She smiles a bit fondly at the boy, and sighs a bit. There /might/ be a small sparkle about her when she does so. "He asked someone to dance in the most romantic way I've seen in a long time." She reaches up to push her hair back, and winks at Peter. "I'm a former student," she confides, then. "And Henry and a couple of the teachers are friends of mine. So I get up to the campus fairly regularly." "...waaaait you're--but--" And now Peter's eyebrows are /really/ scrunching together, grinding and twisting in a terribly tightening /knot/ of thought, peering at Alison *very* closely. But after a while, this intense thoughtfulness evaporates; he turns back to Ivan and blinks owlishly, giving him a (gentle!) nudge. "Asked someone to dance? Who did you ask to dance? Oh my god was that Rasa Ivan you asked Rasa to dance did you did Rasa say yes?" Someone unfamiliar with Peter might take this to be good-natured ribbing, but it's honestly not. Peter is 100% sincere, here. The compliment seems to do a good job of helping Ivan forget he was ever frightened in the first place, and he straightens-- maybe looking a little bit proud, even if it's contained within that one smile at Alison and a slightly puffed out chest. "/Yes/." He then offers Peter. It may have been months but there is still an air of accomplishment about him. Apart from a GRAVE spelling error, that was a good day. "I did not even step on any toes." Alison seems amused by Peter's sudden confusion, and she nods silently. Yes, Peter, the late-night scream queen is ONE OF YOU. She nods at Ivan's answer, and claps her hands together lightly. "It was just melt-worthy," she confirms. "I wish I could have watched longer, only some students got /drunk/, and I had to go deal with that." She offers Ivan a teasing smile. "Also, there was a bug stampede to deal with." She raises an eyebrow at Peter. "So, you must have started there last month," she says. "Because I haven't been up there in at least that long." "A bit earlier," Peter admits somewhat shyly; the perpetual heat in his cheeks still lingers -- but his eyes are flicking between Alison and Ivan, struggling to grasp this new /realization/. I mean, he knew Ivan liked Rasa; he knew Ivan /liked/ liked Rasa, but he didn't know -- "Oh man I totally forgot about Rasa the other day! In the medical lab," Peter says, suddenly. "Like, everybody was out and -- Rasa's okay right? You /danced/ with Rasa and didn't step on any toes?" Peter adds, and then: "Bug stampede? Wait -- what did you DO, Ivan." STARE. "They were only little spiders. Mostly. They made letters with webs. It took me a long time to find enough of them." Ivan replies contently, looking to Alison for a moment as he clasps his hands behind his back with half a shrug. "Rasa was okay. Headache, tired." For a moment, it looks like he's about to leave it at that. But his smile brightens a little, then as he looks between friends. "We held hands." He /wants/ it to come out in a casual sort of way, but that may only emphasize the matter. "They were adorable," Alison confirms. "Shelby wasn't a fan, but I thought it was just charming. And the fact that you gathered them...Rasa is very lucky." She begins to smile, but it falls at the mention of 'everybody' being 'out'. "Did something happen at the school?" she asks, her look intent as she tries to follow Peter's jumping timeline. It's pretty hard, though, so she just listens for a moment. "You held hands...after everyone was out?" she asks, and scrunches her nose. "Why was everyone out?" "Oh man you held Rasa's hand /what/, when did this happen I thought Rasa wasn't interested in /dating/," Peter rushes right into it; needless to say, Ivan rarely has a chance to tell Peter /anything/. "That's awesome Ivan I didn't know you -- oh man I thought, like, when Rasa was kissing Shane I was a little /confused/ and worried but I guess -- you're holding /hands/ that's awesome!" Yes. That is, to Peter, the sign of a healthy relationship. /Hand/ holding. At Alison's question, though... "...oh, right, um, they're all okay, just a lot of people went all whoop whoop at once," and now Peter makes a little circle with his finger around his ear. "Like, their brains just turned off for a while? But nobody died just a lot of headaches, and -- Ivan does this mean you two are, like, a /thing/ now?!" Ivan looks a little lost when Peter explains about people going 'whoop whoop' - clearly, he doesn't know the details of it either, but this leads him back to the previous subject all the easier. "I--" Or maybe not. He stops, thoughtfulness returning to his face and his smile once more contained. "I do not know." His smile stays, but the answer comes out a little quietly, even for Ivan's standards. Perhaps even stranger is that he then turns to Alison to actually ask a question: "Have you been well?" Alison doesn't look lost so much as concerned when Peter makes his whoop whoop gesture. Perhaps being an alum means that one has seen Many Odd Things. "But they're okay, now?" she asks, her hand twitching as if she might fish her phone out. "There's no need to define anything right now, Ivan," she says reassuringly, the boy's hesitancy stilling that twitching hand. "You're young. Just enjoy having someone that you feel close to." She blinks at the question, and flashes a thousand-watt grin. Seriously. There might be actual wattage. "Oh, I've been good, thank you! I've been looking into the Mendel Clinic business, to see why they got their permit revoked for the opening." She makes a face. "Even though I'm pretty sure I won't like the answer." She tilts her head. "And you two? Other than new closeness and medbay adventures, how have things been with you?" "Oh yeah everybody's /super/ fine I mean nobody's dead and they've all got their brains back in order," Peter says, matter-of-factly, like this is all No Big Deal. "And, oh well Ivan I mean that's okay you're holding /hands/ though that's totally cool -- um, not much," Peter says, and this is stated with EYES SHIFTING OH-SO-SHIFTILY. "Just, um. Keeping my head low. Oh! I heard about that on the news -- somebody got /tazed/! Totes crazy." Peter didn't see /who/, though. Ivan speaks in a neutral tone, waiting for Peter to finish talking. "I attacked everyone with bees and Sebastian tried to eat me." Next to the chatty Peter and the thousand-watt grin Alison, his neutral tone and somewhat blank facial expression seem only all the more distant. Then again, neither are that unusual for Ivan. "Attacked with..." Alison blinks at Ivan, then at Peter. "Eat you?" She FROWNS, searching her memory. "Sebastian is Shane's brother, right?" Another FROWN. "Why did he try to eat you?" Peter's remark gets a distant nod. "It was that Mister Holland," she clarifies, then focuses on him. "He was leading the pacifists. It was very dramatic." She gestures towards the bench. "Mel nearly carried me out of the crowd." "'d do it again!" is the rumble of thunder from the bench. "Oh man /Jax/ was--" Ivan's confession earns him a frown from Peter, followed by a gentle nudge. "It was totes an accident," Peter says. "Nobody got hurt and I think Sebastian just -- he just kind of freaked. It's all really complicated and IVAN IS NOT ALLOWED TO BE SAD," Peter adds, these last few words carrying a particular /force/ to them, followed by a Peter-Glare. Which may not be the most effective type of glare, but is certainly among the /rarer/ kind. Mister Holland? Ivan's face loses the last of its smile. Then he's nudged and glared at and told not to be sad at something ELSE. Then he just looks /pensive/, peering right back into that glare. "But I like mister Holland." And as such Mister Holland cannot be hurt, you see. Because Ivan is starting to look SAD, now, looking in confusion between Alison and Peter. "Of course not," Alison says, scrunching her nose. "No one is allowed to be sad around me. It's a rule." She reaches out, then, to pat Ivan on the shoulder. "According to my sources, he got away safely." "Anton's not a /source/," comes another rumble of thunder. Alison makes a face Mel-wards. "Foo. He got everything on video, and that's a perfectly valid source." She smiles encouragingly, and nods. "My point being that he's /fine/. He might be a little /sore/, but he's not arrested or anything." She wags a finger. "So no being sad." "We can visit Jax, Ivan," Peter tells his roommate. "We can visit him and bring him, like, candy, maybe. Like /all/ the candy," Peter soon adds, although his eyebrows puzzle together into a knot, trying to figure out precisely how he'll manage to pull /that/ off. Ivan continues to look between Alison and Peter, somewhat uncertainly, until eventually-- he nods, once but determined. Yes. Visiting Jax that sounds like a thing that should be done. He only offers Alison a brief smile and a wave of his hand and he's already turning to walk, apparently still not having learned how to do good byes. He manages to catch sight of Mel on his way around, which sends his eyes right back down again as they were when he first entered the park. Coincidentally, that may lead him to walk into another bench just down the path if he's left to his own devices. Alison smiles wanly at Ivan as he makes his exit, and scrunches her nose at Peter. "You'd better go after him," she says. "And if you're getting candy, I know just the place." She names a shop that's not far from the park, and fishes out her phone. "I'll let them know you're coming." She points after Ivan determinedly when he veers away from Mel. "You'd better scamper, before he wanders into traffic." Then she's waggling her fingers. "I'll see you at the school," she promises, and moves towards Mel, chatting brightly into the phone as she joins her body guard.