(i haven’t read that one yet! i assume it’s good, though?)
“Off we go, then.” Wilhelm opened the door, the sound of a few hundred boys rushing into the cafeteria echoing through the halls. The common room was bustling with life- boys finishing up homework, boys talking, and boys fighting to get outside and to their classes. “Step lively- we don’t want to to get trampled now, do we?”
(Yeah! It's actually called "Mismatch" tho. But it reminds me of this except with magic)
Connor laughed a little. "Ah doon't think yeh've got ta worry aboot bein' trampled. Ah do, bu' yer too tall ta be trampled."
(i’ll have to check it out!)
“True, true.. oh- hey, buddy!” Wilhelm waved at an underclassman, ruffling up the younger boy’s hair as he walked by. “That’s Ryan. Nice kid, but not competitive enough for this place. Sooner or later, he’ll get eaten alive.” He chuckled, walking Connor and himself out of the busy room.
(Let me know what you think!)
Connor blinked a little, and nodded. "Ah see." he replied slowly, glancing at the kid, then at Wilhelm again. He ran his fingers through his hair, trying to tame the thick, wild red curls.
Wilhelm led them into the cafeteria, walking to the emptiest table there- it was still nearly full, but there was room. His friends weren’t there that morning, but he was alright with that. “Alright, give me a second- hey, while I draw this map up, feel free to go and get food. I just like to sit down beforehand so people know I’m here.”
Connor nodded a little, and pulled out his sketchbook, flipping to an empty page and setting it down. "Alrigh'. Yeh can draw 't in here."
“Sure, sure.” Wilhelm dug in his bag, pulling out a pen and beginning to draw. It was a crude sketch, to be sure, but it showed the room numbers and names well enough. Each type of class- science, English, math, history, and fine arts- had its own wing, each one labeled in Wilhelm’s hardly legible script.
Connor headed over to get food, leaving Wilhelm alone with his sketchbook. He hoped that the other male wouldn't look through it, but…he didn't think there was anything in there that was too terrible.
(look through the sketchbook if you want to lol. I don't mind, plus it might be an interesting way to sort-of-almost-out Connor lmao)
(what else would you do with such a curious character?)
Wilhelm waited for a few moments after finishing the map, looking it over. He glanced behind him- Connor wouldn’t be back for a few minutes, right?
Curiosity soon took over Wilhelm’s mind, and he absentmindedly thumbed through the sketchbook. They really were beautiful. He stopped on one page- it was the portrait from before, Connor’s friend.
(lol)
The sketch was just done in graphite, and looked like it had taken a while to get done. It showed a boy who looked perhaps 20 years old, with a quick, trouble-makers smile, and dark, straight hair. His eyes were lighter, though since the picture was in grey tones, it was difficult to tell which color. It was of the full body, and he wasn't wearing a shirt, his trousers held up with only a single suspender. With the pose, drawing style, and amount of thought that had gone into this drawing…it was a little strange that Connor would draw a picture like this of only a "friend".
Wilhelm raised his eyebrows as he inspected the sketch. Even his other artist friends, when drawing friends, would never put this much effort into it, even if they tried to make it look good. It was odd, to be sure. The more Wilhelm noticed, the more he felt like he shouldn’t be looked at the portrait.
The boy flipped back to the map, studying it to make sure it was accurate enough. The more he tried, though, the more he found himself unable to shake the image of the portrait. It couldn’t hurt to ask, right?
Connor came back with his food, sitting down. "Done wi' th' map?" he asked in his accent, which was softening and becoming a little less prominent. He was also carrying a steaming mug of tea, which he blew on. He gave Wilhelm a quick smile.
“Yeah, I tried to label everything for you..” Wilhelm pointed out the different wings and the classes nestled in them, going through the map bit by bit. He took a breath, trying to think over the question before biting the bullet and asking anyway. “I saw that portrait from yesterday again. I’m sorry if this is too forward, especially because I definitely should not have gone through your sketchbook, but who is it? I don’t remember what you said.” He lied through his teeth, bracing himself for Connor to blow up on him.
Connor bit his lower lip, avoiding Wilhelm's eyes. "His name is James Fletcher. Jamie." he replied after a long moment. He knew exactly which one Wilhelm was talking about. Yesterday, he had only shown the German boy part of the image. Now…he didn't know what to say. Because Jamie was his…lover. And he knew that Wilhelm likely wouldn't mind, but still.
“James. Good name. I’m sorry for going through it, I know I shouldn’t have.” Wilhelm bit the inside of his cheek, clasping his fingers around his neck. “You and him must’ve been close, huh?” He smiled slightly, shaking his head. This was incredibly awkward and he absolutely did NOT plan for this.
"Yeah. I's uhm…i's fine." Connor said slowly. He glanced over at Wilhelm, chewing on his lip again. "Uh…yeah, ah guess we were, a' that." he ran a hand through his hair.
Wilhelm prayed for the bell to ring, forgetting that they had first period together anyway. “Uh— what’s your schedule again? Do you have your copy with you?”
Connor nodded a little. "Ah have first period wi' you, an' then…" he pulled out his schedule, showing it to Wilhelm and silently praying that the German boy didn't ask any more questions about James.
“Right, right.” He looked over the paper once again, numbering the different classes on the map in the order that Connor had them. “Should we go, then? Once you’re finished eating, I mean.”
Connor nodded a little. "Yeah, sure. Are yeh goin' ta eat too?" he asked, raising his eyebrows curiously.
“Ah.. eventually. Eating this early makes me nauseous, so I normally skip breakfast.” Wilhelm shrugged, picking at his nails. His knuckles were cracked and red, presumably from all his time spent outside in the cold.
"Oh." Connor replied after a moment. "Ah understand." he almost wanted to tell Wilhelm about Jamie. About…that he was like Wilhelm, in that regard. But he wasn't sure how to, now that the conversation had moved on. Then again…maybe that was a good thing.
Wilhelm gritted his teeth, thinking. He wanted to ask about James, he really did, but he wanted Connor to talk about it on his own more. “Yeah. Coach gets onto me for it, but would he rather me get sick at practice or not?” He shrugged.
(changing Wilhelm from a rugby player to a soccer player- i feel like it fits him a lot better)
Connor nodded. "Yeah, ah can see yer reasoning f'r 't. Still, though. Yeh sure yeh won' eat anythin'?" he ran a hand through his hair, finishing his food.
(alright)
“I’m sure, Connor.” Wilhelm stretched, glancing back around the cafeteria. “I’m going to say this, and it’s not going to sound good, but watch who you talk to here. A lot of these boys are so competitive that they’ll dig up any and all dirt on you. Bunch of snakes in the grass, if I’m being honest.”
Connor's eyes flickered slightly. "Ah see." he replied, taking a sip of his tea and studying Wilhelm for a long moment. "Seeing as ah haven't go' any dirt they cou' find, ah think ah'll be okay." he shrugged.
“None? Lucky you, then.” Wilhelm laughed, twisting a particularly unruly curl in his fingers. “Wish I was like that.”
Connor shrugged a little, looking down at his tea. "Well…nothing they could find." he replied. "Unless they've go' spies in their pay 'r somethin'."
Wilhelm yawned, but gave Connor a grin. “Well, I must say I’m intrigued.” He glanced at the map one more time, trying to make sure everything was accurate. “Someone found out Romeo and I.. you know. God, that made a mess of my eleventh year. Spent the whole time doing damage control. Nearly failed out.” He leaned back in his wooden seat, drumming his fingers on the dining table. “Couldn’t pay me a thousand dollars to go through that again.”
Connor gave a half shrug. "Oh." he glanced up at Wilhelm for a moment. "Ah'm sorry. That must have really been hard. Ah've been worried about what would happen if someone found out about Jamie and ah-" he broke off, blinking and turning red when he realized what he had just said. "Oops." he took a hasty sip of his tea.
