I Know It's Hard Sometimes

"I thought about the piano," Kaz confessed. He held up his fingers--they were long and he could stretch them far. "But I feel like I didn't do the piano because evreyone kept saying 'Oh Kaz you should play the piano'!"

The last part was said in a high pitch voice, like he was mocking an old woman. he even shook his fist and said "Damn you kids today" to add to the effect.

He realized this was weird without context so he said, "Most of my instructors were elderly women."

He gave Jake another grin. There was something about his smile that suggested he didn't do it too often--the corners of his cheeks pinched like they were uncertain how to fold, dimpling inwards. "I think that's what a violin is supposed to sound like--beseeching or possessed owls. Did you still with it or give in and go to gospel choir?"

Kaz looked appalled for a minute and said, "Please don't tell me you chose philosophy instead."

He reached out and touched the other boy's arm to let him know he was joking. He felt a flicker of warmth in his gut, surprising him, and for the first time Kaz realized that the other boy was not bad looking, not at all. He pulled his hand back before it was awkward.

With the tail chasing and tuning my ear, Kaz figured he might make a guess. "You're a shifter?"

Kaz laughed again. Now that Jake had laughed, too, laughter was coming easier to Kaz, which surprised him. He couldn't actually remembered the last time he laughed.

"Man at least gospel choir was an option," Kaz said. "I went to a public school and the choral program wasn't well funded. We did Disney for three years in a row, which sounds like it should be fun, but a man can only sing Bippity-boppity-boo so many times before he questions his sanity."

Kaz sighed dramatically and said, "Sometimes I still hear those beginning notes in the middle of the night."

To the werewolf news, Kaz looked delighted. "Man, that's so cool! I'm a fae, but I spent most of my life living with normal humans, so i don't get any cool magic. But being a wolf is probably the coolest thing I can think of. I have to admit, I'm a little bit jealous, but I imagine it's not as easy as I think it is."


He realized he was rambling again and gave an apologetic shrug.

Kaz realized that this had extended beyond what might be just normal conversational banter when he walked in on a person while looking for a guitar tuner.

A small part of him said, Kaz you idiot, get out before you make things worse.

But Jake's smile was contagious and his stomach felt warm and Kaz let himself indulge in the fantasy that this could be normal for him, that he could have friends and this could be the things they talk about. These nice, normal things. Well, as normal as it could be for a wolf-boy and a fae.

"That's pretty awesome," Kaz agreed. "But vacuuming the bed doesn't sound so good. And I suppose one of those dog-blankets probably isn't too comfortable to sleep on when you're in the person-shape."

Kaz realized he didn't know what the terminology was for werewolves and gave an apologetic look in case he made a blender.

"To be completely honest, I have no idea," Kaz confessed. "I feel like I should have some kind of perks for being this way. i just..have no idea what they are."

That wasn't entirely untrue. If it was a lie, Kaz wouldn't be able to say it. but he didn't consider his curse to be a perk.

"So um...I don't mean to impose, and it's 100% okay to tell me no on this," Kaz started. "But is there any chance you'd be interested in teaching me that song you were playing earlier sometime this week?"

Kaz considered his reasoning for person-shape.

"Well, I guess I think about it that you're a werewolf whether you look like a person or a wolf," Kaz confessed. "I'm still a fae whether I look like this or something else. But if you prefer human form I can call say that instead."

Kaz laughed with the cringey, deep way he said ‘the power within.’ It made him feel like he was in a video game. Kaz hadn't played video games in a long time, but this made him nostalgic. When Jake talked about flying, Kaz perked up considerably. Flying would be so cool.

“I did hear a rumor that the roof here is spelled so if you jump off of it, you get pulled back up to the top before you hit the bottom,” Kaz said. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “I’m not sure how eager I am to test out that rumor, though. If I ever do decide to give it a try, I’ll let you know how it works out.”

He tried to consider what he thought was cooler: teleporting or flying. Both had their pros, both had their cons.

“I think I’d like to take flying over teleporting,” Kaz finally decided. “I’d be too scared of teleporting into a room and thinking I was going to just appear sitting in a chair, really cool like, with sunglasses, only to end up sitting on someone’s lap while they’re eating a bowl of cereal. That would be my kind of luck.”

Kaz perked up when Jake agreed to show him. He did share some of the other boy’s embarrassment. Kaz still felt bad about just barging in, and he also felt bad enough about his own musical skills to ask. But there was no way he’d get better without practice. He gave the other boy another smile and then reached into his pocket and pulled out a small notepad and a pen. He peeled out a page and jotted down his phone number on it and held it out for the other boy.

“Well, if you could, text me the time and place once I’m penciled in,” he grinned, easing himself into the joke. “And please, pretty please, do not bring any Disney sheet music or I may be forced to take drastic measures."




ooc:
Wolfie I'll try to grab you in the plotting box next time we're both on at the same time. Figured we might be heading towards a good place to wrap this thread up and maybe start a new one?

Kaz blinked and his eyebrows jutted up in surprise. It made him look a little bit younger.

"Okay," he said. "I have to be honest, I can't tell if you're joking with this one.....do you...really cliff dive?"

Kaz considered this and then took the paper back. He wrote down a few more things and gave it back to the boy.

"my class schedule and my dorm room number," he explained. "So if you hear loud yelling anywhere along these routes, it's definitely me and not just a student finally caving in to the pressures to excel academically and financially in a world where magic is real but we're still expected to learn calculus."

He took the guitar from the other boy and gave him another smile, this one a little hopeful. This had been nice. It'd been a long time since Kaz felt like something nice was happening.

Part of him wished that Jake wouldn't find him. Nothing good can come of this, you are a failure, you will ruin everything, this is a nice guy, he helped you with your guitar, don't fuck this up, kaz.

But Kaz was lonely, and right now, the part of him that wanted a friend was bigger.

'Thank you again, Jake," he said. "I look forward to seeing you around."