![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
TEENS IS DUMB
[Things have been getting progressively more rotten since the island fiasco. Most recently, of course, was probably the worst of it that Lars has endured yet. Last month was the last time Sadie stayed at his place, and it was decidedly the least successful—and in other ways, most successful—time had with her yet.
It seemed like things were going to get better, until absolutely fucking nothing made any sense and then everything was worse than before. And now they really weren't friends—they couldn't be, objectively, is what Lars has decided is Sadie's conclusion.
In any case, work has been awful. For the first week after the blizzard, Lars could barely handle looking at Sadie; his chest constantly ached and his heart raced. His stomach was often upset. He was never someone who handled this kind of stress well, and he had no one to really talk to about what was going on—and even if he did, he would be extremely reluctant at best to share it. The result, of course, is that Lars has been extra unpleasant—he's back to unapologetic tardiness; he's extra rude with the customers; he bristles obnoxiously when Ronaldo comes around, or if he thinks he and Sadie are texting; he takes more breaks than usual, and for longer amounts of time.
And tonight, he got in a fight with his mom. She would never do anything like throw Lars out, but he kinda threw himself out until it's late enough that she won't hear him come back. He'd been so useless at home—moreso than usual, than she kind of crawled up his ass about it. And she'd also found a carton of cigarettes, which she didn't take very well. Smoking was kind of an impulsive, stupid decision and a last-ditch effort for a coping mechanism in the face of all the hurt he didn't know what to do with. Even if he kind of dug the romance of self destruction, being a stupid tryhard of a teenaged boy, he was also a little embarrassed about this new habit. It was somewhat low-key, because he knew it was stupid.
Lars taps said carton against the rock he perches on, staring with a glum lack of enthusiasm at the way the sun sets over the ocean. Beautiful, objectively speaking, but Lars can't bother to care. As music blares with obnoxious loudness into his ears from his headphones, Lars's eyes dip to his hands, which shield his lighter as he ignites his cigarette.
He could be doing anything else, but Lars feels he doesn't have anyone to spend time with. His negativity has been clashing with the vibes of Jenny & co; Dewey has a vague idea of what's going on with Lars, but they're overall taking the "healing with distance" approach with him. They aren't very close, after all. He's not really a part of their inner circle.]
It seemed like things were going to get better, until absolutely fucking nothing made any sense and then everything was worse than before. And now they really weren't friends—they couldn't be, objectively, is what Lars has decided is Sadie's conclusion.
In any case, work has been awful. For the first week after the blizzard, Lars could barely handle looking at Sadie; his chest constantly ached and his heart raced. His stomach was often upset. He was never someone who handled this kind of stress well, and he had no one to really talk to about what was going on—and even if he did, he would be extremely reluctant at best to share it. The result, of course, is that Lars has been extra unpleasant—he's back to unapologetic tardiness; he's extra rude with the customers; he bristles obnoxiously when Ronaldo comes around, or if he thinks he and Sadie are texting; he takes more breaks than usual, and for longer amounts of time.
And tonight, he got in a fight with his mom. She would never do anything like throw Lars out, but he kinda threw himself out until it's late enough that she won't hear him come back. He'd been so useless at home—moreso than usual, than she kind of crawled up his ass about it. And she'd also found a carton of cigarettes, which she didn't take very well. Smoking was kind of an impulsive, stupid decision and a last-ditch effort for a coping mechanism in the face of all the hurt he didn't know what to do with. Even if he kind of dug the romance of self destruction, being a stupid tryhard of a teenaged boy, he was also a little embarrassed about this new habit. It was somewhat low-key, because he knew it was stupid.
Lars taps said carton against the rock he perches on, staring with a glum lack of enthusiasm at the way the sun sets over the ocean. Beautiful, objectively speaking, but Lars can't bother to care. As music blares with obnoxious loudness into his ears from his headphones, Lars's eyes dip to his hands, which shield his lighter as he ignites his cigarette.
He could be doing anything else, but Lars feels he doesn't have anyone to spend time with. His negativity has been clashing with the vibes of Jenny & co; Dewey has a vague idea of what's going on with Lars, but they're overall taking the "healing with distance" approach with him. They aren't very close, after all. He's not really a part of their inner circle.]
no subject
(or maybe that was just her justification. he'd come around too, right? sure, it seemed like he was still taking it hard, but... he'd get there eventually. he had to.)
it's a little cold outside, but the wind from the ocean is nice, and the fact that it's the off-season means that it's empty. it makes a nice enough walk while she talks on the phone, at least. she spots lars's figure a long time before she's close enough to actually figure out who it is - it doesn't occur to her that the guy hanging out alone on the beach with a cigarette dangling from his fingers might be lars - but it becomes pretty clear as she approaches. her face morphs from neutral to something vaguely upset, and she holds the phone with one hand as she waves the other to flag lars down, as if telling him not to go anywhere. ]
Yeah. Yeah, sorry, Ronaldo, we'll - no, look, I've gotta go, we'll figure it out tomorrow. I'll talk to you then.
[ and she's immediately lowering the phone to ask- ]
Lars? What are you doing?
no subject
Sadie isn't immediately recognized from a distance, especially since Lars has his back to her. But she creeps on his peripheral, which eventually causes him to twist his back to look behind himself, squinting with suspicion—it takes a moment for it to dawn on him that it's Sadie, and Lars wishes he could... literally run... But of course, that's ridiculous. He notices she's on the phone, which shifts his gears from panic to an abstract sort of jealousy; Sadie lives with her mom, so why would she have a talk with her while going for a walk near the beach?
It's of course completely irrational to just assume it's Ronaldo, but accusatory inventions of jealousy, while often silly, are not always wrong. Besides, Ronaldo's been a goddamn shadow, lately—or at least, that's how it feels. Lars feels like he's seen him collectively in the last month more than he's seen him around in the last half year, since... you know. Ronaldo doesn't really go out.
He rolls his eyes, stubbornly turning back towards the ocean, just posture rigid and uncomfortable as he takes a petty drag from his cigarette. As Sadie lowers the phone, appropriately in his vicinity to talk to him, Lars tenses even more, his bony shoulders hunched.]
Trying to relax, [he growls passive-aggressively, strongly indicating that Sadie might not be conducive to that sort of thing, smoke billowing from his nostrils. Lars's face is hot with embarrassment, but he's also too willful to cover his own ass while caught in the act.] What're you doing?
no subject
Taking a walk? It's a free beach. [ but she's rounding him now, trying to close in in front of him. ] Are you seriously smoking? How long have you been doing that?
no subject
Couple weeks. Who cares?
[Even though he says that, he puts out the cigarette next to his shoe.....]
no subject
[ because she does. she really, really does, which is why her shoulders are lifting uncomfortably even as he watches him put the cigarette out. ]
Seriously, that's really bad for you. What are you thinking?
[ so haha, she's a little angry here... ]
no subject
Lars rolls his eyes, not even bothering to respond her cautioning of his health—everyone knows cigarettes are bad for them, but they still smoke!—and then he straightens out his lanky torso to lean up in Sadie's face—which, even though he's sitting and she's standing, is not difficult to do at all.]
I'm thinking I'm trying to chill out a little!
[Lars recedes a little, feeling he's made his point, and his body language immediately becomes more withdrawn; he folds his arms over the tops of his knees, petulantly looking at the now singed patch of moss (RIP cigarette) with a derisive scowl. It's hard constantly craving Sadie's company, but also hating every second of it.]
Which was working, 'till you came around and hassled me...
no subject
there's space between them, of course - she doesn't want to accidentally insinuate anything again - but she can't deny that she's actually getting a little worried. ]
I wasn't trying to hassle you. I was just kind of, you know. Surprised.
no subject
Lars distantly wonders why Sadie's bothering with sitting down. He sighs, straightening up a little—but his legs are still bent up at the knees.]
Yep, so was my mom. That was also a real blast.
no subject
ugh. no. she can't blame herself for this. lars is a big boy, and he has to own his choices. ]
... she found out? Yikes. That must've been, um. Pretty rough.
[ and that was pretty lame, sadie. ]
no subject
[YOU DID THIS TO YOURSELF, LARS
Lars feels himself relax a little bit, since Sadie's not leaning into him about it at the moment. This also feels kind of weird though, having sort of thoughtlessly mentioned his mother—he didn't really tend to bring that up, ever. But it was just relevant tonight.]
Whatever.
no subject
[ she wants to ask how he is, how he's doing - they barely interact at work, and suddenly sadie feels viscerally uncomfortable instead of just "free." she doesn't know if she has the right to ask him that and expect an answer anymore.
so she doesn't lecture him about the cigarettes again, even though she wants to. (they're terrible for his health, and she likes his teeth so much, he shouldn't do that to them-) awkwardly, she grabs a handful of sand, letting it slide through her fingers. ]
Nice that it's warmed up a little, huh? You can barely tell the weather confused us for Alaska for a little while there.
[ SADIE
are you seriously talking about. weather. ]
no subject
Lars doesn't really want to talk about his mom, or smoking—Sadie's unfortunately probably right that it's no longer in their territory. Lars's barriers are back up, but not so much that he can't humor her well intended chit-chat.]
...Yeah. The winters here are always rough, though. Summer never lasts long enough.
Then again, we both work so friggin' much, it's not like we'd see the damn beach at Summer anyway.
no subject
[ because seriously, early mornings and late nights - what was the actual point of putting in a billion hours if she never had any free time to spend the money? ]
I've lived here for years and I've only gone swimming like, twice. Talk about wasted opportunity, right?
[ oh god this is awkward. this is so awkward. but she's sincerely trying, at least. ]
no subject
Aaand now Lars is trying not to think about Sadie in a bathing suit. Really?
wasted opportunity indeed]That's alright. I feel like I've honestly only gone swimming a handful of times, myself—and I've been here forever. I guess that is weird for someone as outdoorsy as you, though.
no subject
she still cares about him. a lot. and maybe they don't hang out constantly anymore, but she can still be worried about him. especially when he's hurting as clearly as he is right now. ]
The water's pretty safe here, you know. I don't think I've heard of any smiling fish attacks in the area recently, at least. [ she's half-smiling, though it's more to herself than him as she absently rubs her arm. kind of a stupid joke, but at least it's an attempt. ]
no subject
But, of course, that was all fucked up for a lot of reasons. Lars realizes in hindsight he kinda fucked some things up, and of course, Sadie did too. Both things he also thinks about.
And man, those fish were creepy (but delicious).]
Yeah, well, who knows if you'll get in the fray of miscellaneous gem nonsense. I'm amazed there hasn't been any Beach City casualties with how inopportune those can be.
[Wow, Lars, that was grim. But also, is anyone surprised]
no subject
[ the wind feels colder now that she's sat down, stopped moving, and she tries very hard not to think about warming up on the couch next to him at his house. she sighs and pulls her phone out of her pocket, toying around with the lockscreen just to have something to do with her hands. this was impossibly uncomfortable, but she didn't want to leave him yet. ]
I really worry about Steven sometimes, you know? Kind of feels like he's in the thick of that stuff a lot these days.
no subject
I kinda worry too, sometimes. I guess.
[Lars winces. Opening up to Sadie never has any good consequences, but she wore him down to a point where it wasn't as difficult to admit little things like that. You know, normal things that honestly weren't such a big deal.
But hey, this is something he can actually talk about and has thoughts on.]
Like when he headed back during the evacuation. I mean, I guess it turned out things were fine, but it was kinda spooky to see the state the city was in after that—knowin' Steven was involved.
Like—he's saved us before, he's obviously not just some kid, but... Some of that stuff is kinda next level. I always kinda assumed that things would always be kinda at the same pace with that junk, so I never even thought of what could happen.
laughs a thousand years
[ sadie trails off, shrugging one shoulder. her phone vibrates with a text message, and then another one almost immediately after. she hesitates for a moment, nearly opening them up, before she drops the phone in her lap and sort of just starts playing with the sand instead.
she was talking with lars. he deserved her full attention. ]
And the way the power went out, too. I dunno. The things I've just gotten used to seeing since I moved here are pretty weird.
STOP OMG
[Lars notices, but by some miracle doesn't really care. Maybe because Ronaldo can suck it and Sadie is spending time with him right now. Eat it, nerd.
Assuming those messages were Ronaldo, anyway. But Lars has a paranoid hunch.]
I guess it makes sense things would be especially weird the closer you are to the temple.
cant stop...
[ aaaand sadie's phone goes off again. she makes a face then, a little frustrated, before finally giving in and flipping the switching on the side to change it from vibrate to totally silent. something seems to give in her expression, then, and she knows she shouldn't be talking about him to lars, but - ]
Oh my god, Ronaldo is about to drive me insane.
[ it's said with a little sigh, as if just admitting that is enough to lift some weight off her shoulders. ]
1/2
no subject
Lars rolls his eyes, exuding his usual agitation regarding Ronaldo. But it's also a great opportunity to rag on Ronaldo. Especially with their recent kerfuffle...]
Yeah, real shocker. What's he doin', trying to update you on his latest findings? Did he finally find an answer to the paranormal origins of packing peanuts? Or see a suspicious sea gull?
[Lars hopes it's something like that, since...... you know... that's decidedly platonic...
Man, does Lars ever hate that he has Sadie's number at all.]
no subject
ronaldo has it pretty bad for her, and she has no idea. her eyes had been set on Just Lars for so long that it still felt kind of weird to even consider dating someone else. she knew that she and lars didn't owe each other anything, but still. it just means that it hasn't even occurred to her that ronaldo's feelings could possibly be anything but platonic. ]
Ughhh. I don't know. He's been trying to get me to let him test some of the donuts from the store for mind-control chemicals, but I can't tell if he actually thinks we're trying to enslave Beach City or if he's just wanting free donuts.
[ her tone suggests that she's leaning toward the second. sure, she considers him a pretty good friend, but she doesn't have the same loyalty toward him that she did with lars: with a resigned sort of sigh, she kind of shrugs in his direction. ] Don't get me wrong, he's a really great guy, but being friends with him is kind of exhausting sometimes, you know?
no subject
Man. [Lars makes a face like he just tasted something disgusting.]
Anyway, yeah: Ronaldo's really high maintenance company.
[SO DON'T DATE HIM. As if Lars himself isn't really exhausting to be close to...
Lars is definitely trying to discreetly tip the scales, since... he's an asshole. Lars is more than positive Ronaldo is interested in Sadie—maybe because Lars actually knows Ronaldo, even if they've both changed a little since their platonic breakup, but it's mostly because Lars is so paranoid and so afraid of losing Sadie completely. Sure, as a romantic prospect, but he's also still afraid of her just phasing out of his life completely once she realizes completely how worthless Lars is.
Which is an anxiety he's been carrying for a while. It disappeared for a night, Lars messed things up by kissing Sadie, and now he was afraid again. It was a Wild Ride to be Lars.]
(no subject)
*ronaldo face*
lars what were u even doing there...
who even knows
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)