FRACKING COLD
Dec. 14th, 2004 10:49 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
maderrOH. MY. GOD it's cold outside. Winter in a city sucks, simply because of the buildings resulting in Wind Tunnels of Death (that sounds like an awesome B movie...)
Anyway. Really fucking cold.
And everyone seems to be mad bored today. It's not quite ready yet, I wanted to add another five or so pages to this chunk - but at least it will keep some of you amused for a minute or three?
"Whoa, little slippery." Jason rolled his eyes at himself, re-secured his grip on the uneven bricks, and resumed his slow, careful climb up the back wall of the Theta Chi house. An earlier examination had revealed no easier method by which to reach the roof - unless he wanted to try going inside, which was every kind of stupid. Not least of all because he didn't want anyone to know he'd been there.
It would severely hamper the credibility of his "miscalculations" tomorrow afternoon to get caught today.
But getting caught was about as likely as his being invited inside for a drink. If you weren't at an infamous Theta Chi party, you were hiding somewhere so you could lie later and say you had been. So no one who did happen to see him was likely to say anything. And security had bigger fish to fry than a moron scaling a two-story brick house in the middle of an icy winter night.
Well, 11:27. Not quite the middle of the night. And the party was scheduled to end at 1:00 am, so he didn't have a whole lot of time to waste. Good thing he he only needed a few minutes.
Jason froze in place as the window beside him rattled and banged, as if someone has fallen or been thrown against it. He waited, sighing softly as the noise ceased, and resumed climbing. Falling now would suck quite a bit, though there was enough snow that he wouldn't really hurt anything. Maybe a few bruises, but he doubted even that.
Still, he let out a long sigh of relief when he finally scrambled up onto the roof. "Halfway there. The things I do to exact revenge, I swear." He hummed the theme to a zombie movie he'd watched over the weekend as he stepped carefully over the slanted roof, up toward the chimney.
His humming faded from song to murmured thoughts as he turned on a flashlight attached to the front of his coat and examined the chimney with eyes and hands. "Hmm…stronger than I had thought it would be. Probably will have to increase…" his voice trailed off as his thoughts raced along, mentally making adjustments to the rockets he planned to use for the venture, altering the calculations he'd made the night before. He paused ah examined the last corner, the left side facing the street. "Bit weaker here…so if I aim…adjust the…hmm…" Satisfied with his findings, Jason slowly made his way back around the chimney and then slowly down the roof toward the place where he'd originally climbed up.
The sudden slamming open of the back door startled him, just as he was sliding off the edge of the roof to cling to the wall. With a faint cry of surprise, Jason lost his grip and plummeted down, landing with a hard 'oof.'
On something that definitely was not snow.
Something that talked.
"Get off me!" Calvin hissed in outrage, though a tinge of fear lurked beneath it.
Jason blinked. Blinked again. He pushed himself up on his arms, still hovering over Calvin. "What are you doing here?"
"Huh?" Calvin stopped struggling to get free, finally realizing who had come crashing down upon him. "What are you doing here?"
"I asked first."
"Nothing."
"You just like to lay in the snow on Theta Chi's lawn?"
Calvin glared, "You're the one who knocked me down."
"That's only because--" he was cut off by Calvin's hand on his mouth, as the other man held a finger to his own lips, warning Jason to stay silent.
Jason frowned behind the hand, but didn't protest as the sound of voices drew near. He dropped back down, until he was flush against Calvin, and they were mostly hidden by the high snow.
Calvin's breaths were white puffs of soundless air as they waited unmoving for the two voices to either approach and discover them, or retreat and leave them mercifully undetected.
Not that Jason thought he'd be able to move even if they were found. Calvin's bare hands were still warm, as though he'd either just come outside or recently removed gloves. The fingers were slender, calloused in a way that artists' hands usually weren't. And Calving was really really really close.
Anxious, flustered, Jason waited as the voices drifted closer, not hearing the slurred words, only listening for the sounds to go away.
Which, at last, they did, as the Drunken Theta Jerk convinced his girlfriend to go back inside. Jason sighed in relief behind Calvin's fingers.
Calving jerked his fingers away like he'd been burned, and Jason was forcibly reminded as to their positions - and scrambled madly to stand.
He'd barely moved away when Calvin rose, retrieved a large, black plastic case from the snow and took off like a shot across the backyard and through the hedges that lined the end it, cutting through to a quieter street of student housing.
Jason dashed after him, both of them moving until they were well away from the Theta Chi house. Panting, Jason reached out and snagged Calvin's wrist - but immediately let go when Calvin whirled and tried to jerk away. "Sorry! Just wanted you to stop. Man, you can really book it when you want to. I walk fast but damn - I almost had to run to keep up with you. So what were you--" Jason stopped, and frowned, finally getting a close look at Calvin. "What happened to you?"
"Nothing," Calvin said sullenly, and turned to continue on down the street. He spun around and jerked away as Jason again latched onto him - by the upper arm this time. "Leave me alone!"
"Okay. Sorry," Jason looked unhappy. "I just wondered why you were around the Theta house. Is that why you have more bruises?"
Calvin shrugged, and responded in a mutter almost too low to hear. "They got me this morning before class. I was going to get them back tonight." He hefted the case, which was obviously heavy, but said nothing more.
"But why'd they get you? Just because I…oh…" Jason looked abashed. "They got you because I called security on them twice." He ran a hand awkwardly through his hair and fidgeted with his glasses. "I’m sorry."
"It's okay," Calvin said, looking at Jason in mild surprise. "They probably would have just found another. I'm used to it."
"Why do you let them do it?"
Calvin stiffened defensively and once more tried to leave.
"Wait! Come on," Jason sounded desperate and aggravated. "Why do you keep trying to rush off?"
"Why should I stay?" Calvin asked, looking and standing utterly confounded.
"Ah…" Jason looked briefly confused. "Don't you want to know why I was on the roof?"
Calvin blinked, "Oh, yeah. Why were you on the roof?"
"Come with me," Jason grinned, suddenly all mischief. "I'll show you. It's kind hard to explain without being able to show you."
"Umm…"
"Please?" Jason hoped he didn't sound as desperate as he thought he did. But he couldn't help but think - okay, hope - that Calvin might be a kindred spirit. Probably wishful thinking, but it couldn't hurt. Or at least, he was used to the hurt.
"….Okay. I guess." Calvin set the case on the ground and dug in the pockets of his ski jacket and pulled out gloves, which he quickly donned. Retrieving his case, he stood looking at Jason, brown eyes intent.
"Uh, right," Jason half-muttered, suddenly remembering he was supposed to be leading the way and not staring at Calvin. He crossed the street as a car passed, cutting through yards to reach the main street, where they could walk straight to the back of his apartment building.
Calvin followed him in silence, biting his lip in thought as he regarded the lanky man in front of him. He had the build of someone who spent most of his time in doors, but wasn’t' a complete vegetable. Which was interesting, because the guy struck him as a computer-type geek. He blinked, suddenly stopping. "Umm…hey."
The other man stopped, and turned. "What's up? We're almost there, promise. It's just a block more."
"What's your name?"
Jason started to laugh, the sound of it especially loud in the dead, cold night air. "Jason Fox."
"Oh."
"Nice to meet you," Jason beamed. "Now come on - I'm cold."
Calvin smiled, "It's not that bad out here."
Completely dazzled, Jason could only manage a nod as he struggled to remember how to move. Calvin was proving more difficult than even trying to teach freshmen basic physics. "This way." He hesitated as they finally reached the building, conflicted as to whether it would be better to take the fire escape or actually use the main stairwell. He settled on the stairwell, as he it came to him that he didn't want to explain to Calvin why he used the fire escape.
He opened the front door - like maybe only the second or third time he'd used it, not counting pizza deliveries - and flicked on the lights. "It's not much. And really, what I want to show you is on the roof. I just figured you'd like to set your stuff down."
"Do you have any roommates?" Calvin was looking around the apartment like a kid who'd just walked into a candy shop. "This place is great."
Jason smiled hesitantly, "You think so? It's not much…my mom gave me the furniture and fixed it up so I couldn't 'do too much damage'." He rolled his eyes, "She's still upset about the last time she gave me furniture."
"What happened last time?" Calvin asked.
"Uh…" Jason adjusted his glasses. "I got carried away with an experiment and wound up setting it on fire. That was in high school, when they bought me a new bedroom set. It…" he grinned sheepishly. "The bed's still okay - I've got it now. But the dresser and nightstand didn't make it."
Calvin looked impressed and amused, "Which one did you set on fire?"
"The dresser," Jason grimaced at the memory. "The nightstand was a victim of super glue and Paige's cashmere sweater. She's still mad at me for that one. Even though I give her one for Christmas every year now."
"Paige? A sister?"
"Yeah. A few years older - she's getting married soon." Jason heaved a long suffering sigh, "She's more impossible than ever to live with. I hope Eric - her fiancé - is up to the challenge." He grinned, "And up to the fact that I'm not going to stop tormenting her."
Calvin almost smiled, "Sounds like the way I used to terrorize Susie and Rosalyn."
"Who are they?" Jason moved away from the entryway, leading Calvin to his living room. "Want something to drink?"
"Nah, I'm fine." Calvin hesitated, but seeing Jason strip off his winter gear, gladly followed suit. "Susie's a girl I grew up with. She goes to school up in Clarington."
"The girl's school?" Jason shuddered, "Must be terrifying."
"Susie fits right in," Calvin said dryly. "She's the Princess of Terror."
"Not the Queen?"
"No - that would be Rosalyn. She was my babysitter growing up." Calvin's eyes grew distant, as he relived memories. "We used to do our damnedest to kill each other, I swear. I was terrified of her, growing up." He grinned briefly, "And I was definitely the most troublesome child she ever had the misfortune of babysitting."
Jason laughed in delight, collapsing next to Calvin on the couch. "That's awesome. Usually Paige or Peter - my brother - got stuck watching me, and that's not as much fun as terrifying a total stranger. Oh - but friend Marcus has four sisters. We used to terrorize them from time to time."
"Marcus?"
"Yeah, he's my best friend. Going to an IT school on the west coast," he rolled his eyes. "Mostly because his girlfriend is going there for school. But he says he likes it so…" Jason shrugged.
They fell silent, neither quite sure where to go from there.
"So what did you want to show me?" Calvin asked at last.
"Oh! It's up on the roof." Jason jumped up, glad to have something to do, and grabbed a hooded sweatshirt before heading toward the window. Flinging it open, he grinned back at Calvin before clambering out and leading the way up the steps, their footsteps sharp and ringing against the all-but-frozen metal stairs. "This way," he crossed the roof and stopped before the tarp, flinging it back with a flourish.
"Oh, cool!" Calvin crowed, dropping to his knees to get a closer look.
Jason noticed he hadn't bothered to put his jacket back on. "Aren't you cold?"
"Huh?" Calvin looked up, not really paying attention. "No." He turned back to the rockets. "They look…different. Did you do something to them?"
"Yeah," Jason kneeled next to him and launched into an elaborate explanation on his modifications, explaining each aspect of the half dozen rockets. He seemed oblivious to Calvin's occasional looks of confusion.
"Wait ," Calvin interrupted, shaking his head. "Are you saying you can blow stuff up?"
"Huh? Yeah - but it's really not much stronger than like a really good firecracker or something. You know - small stuff. Mostly just for show."
Calvin nodded, seeming unfazed. "So how does this relate to Theta Chi?"
"I was going to direct a couple at their chimney. It's pretty weak, a couple of good hits and the whole thing will just topple - really someone should have had it taken care of a long time ago."
"That's why you were on the roof?"
"Yeah."
"But…" Calvin looked at him, and barely a foot apart Jason found it more difficult than normal not to just sit and stare. "Why are you doing this?"
Jason grinned, "To get them back for the snowmen - and those bruises. Especially as seeing those bruises are my fault - I was going to send one rocket but now I think I'll send two. That'll scare the living daylights out of all of them."
Anyway. Really fucking cold.
And everyone seems to be mad bored today. It's not quite ready yet, I wanted to add another five or so pages to this chunk - but at least it will keep some of you amused for a minute or three?
"Whoa, little slippery." Jason rolled his eyes at himself, re-secured his grip on the uneven bricks, and resumed his slow, careful climb up the back wall of the Theta Chi house. An earlier examination had revealed no easier method by which to reach the roof - unless he wanted to try going inside, which was every kind of stupid. Not least of all because he didn't want anyone to know he'd been there.
It would severely hamper the credibility of his "miscalculations" tomorrow afternoon to get caught today.
But getting caught was about as likely as his being invited inside for a drink. If you weren't at an infamous Theta Chi party, you were hiding somewhere so you could lie later and say you had been. So no one who did happen to see him was likely to say anything. And security had bigger fish to fry than a moron scaling a two-story brick house in the middle of an icy winter night.
Well, 11:27. Not quite the middle of the night. And the party was scheduled to end at 1:00 am, so he didn't have a whole lot of time to waste. Good thing he he only needed a few minutes.
Jason froze in place as the window beside him rattled and banged, as if someone has fallen or been thrown against it. He waited, sighing softly as the noise ceased, and resumed climbing. Falling now would suck quite a bit, though there was enough snow that he wouldn't really hurt anything. Maybe a few bruises, but he doubted even that.
Still, he let out a long sigh of relief when he finally scrambled up onto the roof. "Halfway there. The things I do to exact revenge, I swear." He hummed the theme to a zombie movie he'd watched over the weekend as he stepped carefully over the slanted roof, up toward the chimney.
His humming faded from song to murmured thoughts as he turned on a flashlight attached to the front of his coat and examined the chimney with eyes and hands. "Hmm…stronger than I had thought it would be. Probably will have to increase…" his voice trailed off as his thoughts raced along, mentally making adjustments to the rockets he planned to use for the venture, altering the calculations he'd made the night before. He paused ah examined the last corner, the left side facing the street. "Bit weaker here…so if I aim…adjust the…hmm…" Satisfied with his findings, Jason slowly made his way back around the chimney and then slowly down the roof toward the place where he'd originally climbed up.
The sudden slamming open of the back door startled him, just as he was sliding off the edge of the roof to cling to the wall. With a faint cry of surprise, Jason lost his grip and plummeted down, landing with a hard 'oof.'
On something that definitely was not snow.
Something that talked.
"Get off me!" Calvin hissed in outrage, though a tinge of fear lurked beneath it.
Jason blinked. Blinked again. He pushed himself up on his arms, still hovering over Calvin. "What are you doing here?"
"Huh?" Calvin stopped struggling to get free, finally realizing who had come crashing down upon him. "What are you doing here?"
"I asked first."
"Nothing."
"You just like to lay in the snow on Theta Chi's lawn?"
Calvin glared, "You're the one who knocked me down."
"That's only because--" he was cut off by Calvin's hand on his mouth, as the other man held a finger to his own lips, warning Jason to stay silent.
Jason frowned behind the hand, but didn't protest as the sound of voices drew near. He dropped back down, until he was flush against Calvin, and they were mostly hidden by the high snow.
Calvin's breaths were white puffs of soundless air as they waited unmoving for the two voices to either approach and discover them, or retreat and leave them mercifully undetected.
Not that Jason thought he'd be able to move even if they were found. Calvin's bare hands were still warm, as though he'd either just come outside or recently removed gloves. The fingers were slender, calloused in a way that artists' hands usually weren't. And Calving was really really really close.
Anxious, flustered, Jason waited as the voices drifted closer, not hearing the slurred words, only listening for the sounds to go away.
Which, at last, they did, as the Drunken Theta Jerk convinced his girlfriend to go back inside. Jason sighed in relief behind Calvin's fingers.
Calving jerked his fingers away like he'd been burned, and Jason was forcibly reminded as to their positions - and scrambled madly to stand.
He'd barely moved away when Calvin rose, retrieved a large, black plastic case from the snow and took off like a shot across the backyard and through the hedges that lined the end it, cutting through to a quieter street of student housing.
Jason dashed after him, both of them moving until they were well away from the Theta Chi house. Panting, Jason reached out and snagged Calvin's wrist - but immediately let go when Calvin whirled and tried to jerk away. "Sorry! Just wanted you to stop. Man, you can really book it when you want to. I walk fast but damn - I almost had to run to keep up with you. So what were you--" Jason stopped, and frowned, finally getting a close look at Calvin. "What happened to you?"
"Nothing," Calvin said sullenly, and turned to continue on down the street. He spun around and jerked away as Jason again latched onto him - by the upper arm this time. "Leave me alone!"
"Okay. Sorry," Jason looked unhappy. "I just wondered why you were around the Theta house. Is that why you have more bruises?"
Calvin shrugged, and responded in a mutter almost too low to hear. "They got me this morning before class. I was going to get them back tonight." He hefted the case, which was obviously heavy, but said nothing more.
"But why'd they get you? Just because I…oh…" Jason looked abashed. "They got you because I called security on them twice." He ran a hand awkwardly through his hair and fidgeted with his glasses. "I’m sorry."
"It's okay," Calvin said, looking at Jason in mild surprise. "They probably would have just found another. I'm used to it."
"Why do you let them do it?"
Calvin stiffened defensively and once more tried to leave.
"Wait! Come on," Jason sounded desperate and aggravated. "Why do you keep trying to rush off?"
"Why should I stay?" Calvin asked, looking and standing utterly confounded.
"Ah…" Jason looked briefly confused. "Don't you want to know why I was on the roof?"
Calvin blinked, "Oh, yeah. Why were you on the roof?"
"Come with me," Jason grinned, suddenly all mischief. "I'll show you. It's kind hard to explain without being able to show you."
"Umm…"
"Please?" Jason hoped he didn't sound as desperate as he thought he did. But he couldn't help but think - okay, hope - that Calvin might be a kindred spirit. Probably wishful thinking, but it couldn't hurt. Or at least, he was used to the hurt.
"….Okay. I guess." Calvin set the case on the ground and dug in the pockets of his ski jacket and pulled out gloves, which he quickly donned. Retrieving his case, he stood looking at Jason, brown eyes intent.
"Uh, right," Jason half-muttered, suddenly remembering he was supposed to be leading the way and not staring at Calvin. He crossed the street as a car passed, cutting through yards to reach the main street, where they could walk straight to the back of his apartment building.
Calvin followed him in silence, biting his lip in thought as he regarded the lanky man in front of him. He had the build of someone who spent most of his time in doors, but wasn’t' a complete vegetable. Which was interesting, because the guy struck him as a computer-type geek. He blinked, suddenly stopping. "Umm…hey."
The other man stopped, and turned. "What's up? We're almost there, promise. It's just a block more."
"What's your name?"
Jason started to laugh, the sound of it especially loud in the dead, cold night air. "Jason Fox."
"Oh."
"Nice to meet you," Jason beamed. "Now come on - I'm cold."
Calvin smiled, "It's not that bad out here."
Completely dazzled, Jason could only manage a nod as he struggled to remember how to move. Calvin was proving more difficult than even trying to teach freshmen basic physics. "This way." He hesitated as they finally reached the building, conflicted as to whether it would be better to take the fire escape or actually use the main stairwell. He settled on the stairwell, as he it came to him that he didn't want to explain to Calvin why he used the fire escape.
He opened the front door - like maybe only the second or third time he'd used it, not counting pizza deliveries - and flicked on the lights. "It's not much. And really, what I want to show you is on the roof. I just figured you'd like to set your stuff down."
"Do you have any roommates?" Calvin was looking around the apartment like a kid who'd just walked into a candy shop. "This place is great."
Jason smiled hesitantly, "You think so? It's not much…my mom gave me the furniture and fixed it up so I couldn't 'do too much damage'." He rolled his eyes, "She's still upset about the last time she gave me furniture."
"What happened last time?" Calvin asked.
"Uh…" Jason adjusted his glasses. "I got carried away with an experiment and wound up setting it on fire. That was in high school, when they bought me a new bedroom set. It…" he grinned sheepishly. "The bed's still okay - I've got it now. But the dresser and nightstand didn't make it."
Calvin looked impressed and amused, "Which one did you set on fire?"
"The dresser," Jason grimaced at the memory. "The nightstand was a victim of super glue and Paige's cashmere sweater. She's still mad at me for that one. Even though I give her one for Christmas every year now."
"Paige? A sister?"
"Yeah. A few years older - she's getting married soon." Jason heaved a long suffering sigh, "She's more impossible than ever to live with. I hope Eric - her fiancé - is up to the challenge." He grinned, "And up to the fact that I'm not going to stop tormenting her."
Calvin almost smiled, "Sounds like the way I used to terrorize Susie and Rosalyn."
"Who are they?" Jason moved away from the entryway, leading Calvin to his living room. "Want something to drink?"
"Nah, I'm fine." Calvin hesitated, but seeing Jason strip off his winter gear, gladly followed suit. "Susie's a girl I grew up with. She goes to school up in Clarington."
"The girl's school?" Jason shuddered, "Must be terrifying."
"Susie fits right in," Calvin said dryly. "She's the Princess of Terror."
"Not the Queen?"
"No - that would be Rosalyn. She was my babysitter growing up." Calvin's eyes grew distant, as he relived memories. "We used to do our damnedest to kill each other, I swear. I was terrified of her, growing up." He grinned briefly, "And I was definitely the most troublesome child she ever had the misfortune of babysitting."
Jason laughed in delight, collapsing next to Calvin on the couch. "That's awesome. Usually Paige or Peter - my brother - got stuck watching me, and that's not as much fun as terrifying a total stranger. Oh - but friend Marcus has four sisters. We used to terrorize them from time to time."
"Marcus?"
"Yeah, he's my best friend. Going to an IT school on the west coast," he rolled his eyes. "Mostly because his girlfriend is going there for school. But he says he likes it so…" Jason shrugged.
They fell silent, neither quite sure where to go from there.
"So what did you want to show me?" Calvin asked at last.
"Oh! It's up on the roof." Jason jumped up, glad to have something to do, and grabbed a hooded sweatshirt before heading toward the window. Flinging it open, he grinned back at Calvin before clambering out and leading the way up the steps, their footsteps sharp and ringing against the all-but-frozen metal stairs. "This way," he crossed the roof and stopped before the tarp, flinging it back with a flourish.
"Oh, cool!" Calvin crowed, dropping to his knees to get a closer look.
Jason noticed he hadn't bothered to put his jacket back on. "Aren't you cold?"
"Huh?" Calvin looked up, not really paying attention. "No." He turned back to the rockets. "They look…different. Did you do something to them?"
"Yeah," Jason kneeled next to him and launched into an elaborate explanation on his modifications, explaining each aspect of the half dozen rockets. He seemed oblivious to Calvin's occasional looks of confusion.
"Wait ," Calvin interrupted, shaking his head. "Are you saying you can blow stuff up?"
"Huh? Yeah - but it's really not much stronger than like a really good firecracker or something. You know - small stuff. Mostly just for show."
Calvin nodded, seeming unfazed. "So how does this relate to Theta Chi?"
"I was going to direct a couple at their chimney. It's pretty weak, a couple of good hits and the whole thing will just topple - really someone should have had it taken care of a long time ago."
"That's why you were on the roof?"
"Yeah."
"But…" Calvin looked at him, and barely a foot apart Jason found it more difficult than normal not to just sit and stare. "Why are you doing this?"
Jason grinned, "To get them back for the snowmen - and those bruises. Especially as seeing those bruises are my fault - I was going to send one rocket but now I think I'll send two. That'll scare the living daylights out of all of them."
no subject
Date: 2004-12-15 03:44 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-12-15 03:46 am (UTC)Oh my gods, you people are seriously going to kill me with laughter tonight.
That'll teach me to cuss like a sailor.