can i uh help you? - eric!

[luckyreborn]

Conrad put both of his hands on the back of his head as he walked down the hallway, occassionally winking at girls who smiled at him. Life was good, but he needed to catch up on some school reading. A girl sidled up to him, and Conrad checked around for Summer before he smiled down at her and slipped her his number. Oh, the ladies.

The football team passed by, slapping him on the back and cheering his name. He yelled at them until the disappeared into the thrashing hallway. He wasn't almost there. A group of girls passed him, giggling like crazy. Freshman. Too young, but he gave them a sly smile anyway. It couldn't hurt. The burst out in giggles and bolted away to the girl's room.

Just one more hallway until-

"Conrad!" An angry girl with crazy brown hair poked his chest, her eyes nearly set him on fire. "You never called me!" She fumed. Conrad sighed loudly, and her fire was dampened. "I'm sorry, Connie," she crooned, standing up on tiptoes to kiss him on the cheek. "You explained our regulations."

Not even a word, and he was free, the girl twitched to the library.

Finally, the courtyard. His face broke into a grin, and he nearly jogged to one of the many shadey trees. But he had to keep his cool. A group of runners passed, saying their hello's. He smiled and nodded, took the book from out of his pocket, and sat down where he hoped no one could see him. Reading didn't seem so bad any more.




notes: noone.
lyrics: your biggest fan.

[hbghost]

There he was. Mister Everything and Anything.

When Eric wasn't getting the crap beat out of him for no reason, locking himself in his dorm and writing, or trying to survive the day, he would usually spend his time observing people, granted he stayed out of sight himself, both in and out of the school. Today, Eric had the rare opportunity to catch a glimpse of one of (if not THE) most popular guys in school, or at least in his class. He even beat Drake in some cases. Besides, who DIDN'T like Conrad Leach? Just like all of the other charming guys in the school (minus Zack, since Zack was a butthole), you either liked them or wanted to be just like them. Eric was, obviously, the latter, since his eyes were intently focused on Conrad making his way through the courtyard.

Of course, Eric was on his belly on a thin tree branch looking down at Conrad and watching his every move. But he didn't care. He just wanted to know what Conrad had that he didn't.

Why didn't he have women swarming him like Conrad did? It just didn't seem fair. Why was he slapped around just for the fun of it, not slapped on the back as a gesture of friendship? Why wasn't he able to prevent women from being angry at him, and thus keeping the popular girls from being just as able to beat the crap out of him as the guys were? It just... wasn't right. Was it the mask? Was that the reason everyone seemed so... repelled from him? Maybe that was it. But then again, a paper bag over his head didn't seem so attractive, either. But how was he going to cover up his face and attract the ladies (or guys, if worst came to worst) at the same time? It just... didn't seem possible.

Just then, a thought occurred to Eric. A rather obscure thought that hadn't occurred to him before.

He wanted Conrad's face. So bad. Eric growled at the thought. So it was the face. The overly pretty face that earned him all the girls. And that was what he lacked. A pretty face.

At this thought, Eric leaned over a bit too far, and just when Conrad was passing under, he slipped and fell nearly (if not exactly) on top of the poor guy.

He really needed to stop stalking people.

[luckyreborn]

As he tried to settle down in his spot, of course Conrad heard a slight rustling. He didn't expect a full-ass grown man to fall on him.

"Oof!" Conrad gasped as him and the guy hit the ground. He looked him over momentarily, before shaking his head and pushing the guy off and right side up.

"Can I, uh, help you?" He asked. It held a tinge of accusation. Conrad was glad he'd been able to hold his tongue, or the spew of curses would have never ended. Everything was so bottled up in him right now. He was scared he would stub his toe and cry for hours or just straight out yell.

Conrad shook his head again, as if trying to shake off what had just happed. Holy shit. He stood slowly to his feet, patting his pants and then offering his hand to the guy to help him up. "You fell...quite a long drop..." He said, choosing his words cautiously.

People who fell out of trees weren't normally that stable.



notes: it looks kind of short...but i swear i put a lot in it!
lyrics: your biggest fan.

[hbghost]

"Can I, uh, help you?"

This was the textbook definition of screwed. Eric knew it.

"Uh... um... well... I... I just slipped. It was... it was really nothing important, just... well, I... um..." Eric stuttered, and then he knew that no matter how much he talked, he was going to get pounded anyway. Unfortunately for him, the redness was clear on his face from the embarrassment he suffered, red as the bruises that covered both him and Conrad. Ouch.

He let Conrad help him to his feet while he continued to mindlessly stutter, before absently turning around to walk away, cheeks still burning.

"You fell...quite a long drop..."

That stopped him.

"I... I did, didn't I?" Eric muttered to himself, turning back toward Conrad and frowning. He didn't want Conrad to think he was drunk or high or anything. That was actually the last thing he wanted him to think. It was an accident and nothing more. An accident and nothing more. An accident... that face was not an accident...

Eric forced himself to turn away again.

"...Sorry..."

[luckyreborn]

Conrad rubbed his head as the guy rambled on, stuttering and avoiding his guys. This made him feel...terrible, and he had been the victim.

They guy turned around and started to trip away, but Conrad's comment caught him up.

"I... I did, didn't I?"

He seemed shocked.

But that didn't stop him from turning around again.

"Hey, buddy," Conrad called. He couldn't just let this guy walk away, not feeling like that. He caught his arm, turning him around. The mask was...distracting. Yes, that was the word. But Conrad's heart immediately softened, and he made sure the friendly grin stayed planted on his face. "Are you okay? I mean, seriously. I'm not banana but I'll have bruises, and I can't imagine how it'll be for you."

Eric Lonesinner. There we go. Names were easy if you could just see...the face. Or half of it. Conrad grimaced. He wanted to see what was under that mask, see if it was really so beastly that he needed to cover it. Sure he'd heard rumors, but he wanted to know. Conrad got what he wanted, but he'd have to talk to that point. No prob there.

notes: noone.
lyrics: oh darling - courtesy of kitt!

[hbghost]

"Are you okay? I mean, seriously. I'm not banana but I'll have bruises, and I can't imagine how it'll be for you."

Eric hesitated for a few moments, repeating Conrad's words in his head. Was the larger boy really sympathizing for him, or was it a trick to try to get past his (Eric's) somewhat thick head? Eric froze where he was for a moment, his back to Conrad. Every once in a while, he opened his mouth to respond, but nothing came out.

Finally, he muttered sheepishly, "I'm fine... really... I mean... I know I'm going to get quite a lot of bruises from this... but I really think, um... well... I... I'm sorry for interrupting your thoughts or... whatever, so... I think I'll just... head out now... bye..."

It was then that Eric started to inch away from Conrad before powerwalking to the other side of the courtyard, his face completely red. He wanted to leave before things got really bad and he ended up getting even more hurt than before.

Also, Eric had caught a glance of Conrad examining his mask right before he fled. Was he thinking of ripping it off to expose what was underneath? Most likely, knowing the jerks at Baum. If there were any way for him to be hated more at this place than he already was, it had something to do with the mask and the horrid image it covered up. But Eric didn't want to think about that now. Not now.

[luckyreborn]

I'm fine... really... I mean... I know I'm going to get quite a lot of bruises from this... but I really think, um... well... I... I'm sorry for interrupting your thoughts or... whatever, so... I think I'll just... head out now... bye..."

Eric said that all without even looking at Conrad.

Conrad hated when people didn't look at him.

Once those words flew out of Eric's mouth in stutters and grunts, he jolted away. But, seriously, like Conrad could catch up with him? Within a minute, Conrad has passed Eric and was standing in front of him, blocking further retreat.

Woaaah, Conrad had seriously never seen something so...red. Not even those super dark flowers or tomatoes or blood. But, he guessed, it was blood. He shook his heads of those thoughts.

"Seriously, man. I know you fell on me, but I feel like I owe you something?" It came out more like a question. "Would you please just sit and talk with me?" His face was a plea not even a puppy dog could muster.



notes: noone.
lyrics: shesgotstyle.

[hbghost]

IF WE RUN THIS LIGHT TAKE A LITTLE LIFE
no one will care at all

w e c a n b u r n i t a n d l e a v e
FOR WE ARE THE BEAUTIFUL THEIVES
a n d n o o n e s u s p e c t s a t a l l

"Seriously, man. I know you fell on me, but I feel like I owe you something?"

... Wait, what? That didn't even make sense to him. How could Eric owe Conrad something? Unless it was money. Then it made sense. Conrad would have suddenly created this major debt that Eric would have been in, and it would take him a very long time to pay it off. Besides, Conrad was one of the most desirable men at Baum (not in Eric's own thoughts, of course...) and the chances of him being nice to an absolute loser like Eric would be... (he took a moment to mentally count on his fingers) one in a gazillion. Unless Conrad was in a very good mood at that moment and decided to spread outside his social comfort zone by socializing with the disgusting lower class of Baum, then there would have to be some trick behind this. There just had to be.

"Owe me something? What do you mean?" he asked, voicing his thoughts to a t as he raised an eyebrow at Conrad.

"Would you please just sit and talk with me?"

Sit? Talk? Conrad? These words did not process in Eric's head. However, he decided to follow through with it. What was the worst he could do other than beat him up and give him more bruises or something? He had already experienced all the misery of high school this year alone because of his face... whatever had happened to his face. His face had caused him more pain than he had experienced in his life. The only torment and suffering he had experienced for a while that had absolutely nothing to do with the mysterious growth that had appeared was his parents' death, and no beautiful face could have done anything to stop it...

``NOTES! Sorry I haven't posted in a while...
``STATUS! Unsure.
``MUSE! Not very good.
``TAG! Conrad
``OUTFIT!
``WORD COUNT!
``CREDIT! PAULAA!? @ caution2.0

[luckyreborn]

Conrad gave him an urging smile and led him to some grassy spot to sit down, right in front of everyone.

"Owe me something? What do you mean?"

Conrad licked his lips. To bide time, he stretched, his muscles flaring under his shirt. "Well, you..." He rubbed his temples. Would bluntness scare him away? "Alright, here's the truth. You're not the most popular guy in school, right? Yeah. So, I'm gonna help you. Or at least almost. A lot of what I am is not actual appearance, it's confidence. I can't do that for you." Conrad took in a breath and looked at him.

Hopefully this kid wasn't gonna run away.

Again, he licked his lips. This time, he gazed off at some girls playing frisbee. "The mask...man. I don't know what's under it, but it can't be as bad as how wonky that thing looks." He motioned to it, but tried to keep his distance.

Conrad was starting to notice he was being a big provider in this conversation, babbling the way he did when he got excited.

"I'm being to harsh. You can do whatever you want, but I can tell you're actually a nice guy." With that concusive sentence, Conrad flashed him the famous Leach smile.