Arguing in the Common Room on Pecari Commons

Brett Hodges and Echo Elms

March 11, 2007 11:47 AM

Arguing in the Common Room by Brett Hodges and Echo Elms

[OOC: background on this in Brett's Greatest Journal IC:]

Brett thought he'd collected himself. He thought his mom's insights had outweighed the importance of his initial suspicions. But when he came back from the quidditch stands and saw Echo sitting crosslegged in the common room, face close to that transfigurations text of his, it suddenly became clear to him that Echo should not get away with this.

He marched directly over to his friend and leaned over him, "Dude. What did you tell her?"

Echo straightened up and got that shifty I'm emotionally fragile don't mess with me look that he sometimes got when he was guilty. Brett wasn't taking it, "Smack, man. What'd you scrib home about me?" His voice was getting loud and he didn't care.

"They asked how you were," Echo excused himself, "I told them. So what?"

Brett leaned in closer and said, very, very quietly, "Thanks to whatever it was, mom thinks I'm miserable and have no friends and now she's all worried about me." Being in his friend's space was a power trip. It made the Echo flinch and tense. He even breathed more carefully. "Whadchu tell her?"

"I might have said something about you being homesick," Echo said, not quite as quietly, "I didn't know they'd tell your mom."

"They?" his volume was on the rise again.

"Just mom and dad."

"Well they did," Brett said, "And now the whole extended family will know and everything and what'd you do that for, huh? It's none of your business. I don't write home and tell my mom you need glasses!"

After a few seconds, Echo said slowly, "Did I say anything that was untrue?" His tone was odd and Brett backed away, feeling his insides ball up. Echo continued to look straight at ahead. "Then what are you getting so upset about?"

Echo's eyes flicked to meet his, and then he stood up and walked toward his dorm, leaving Brett watching after him.

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0 Brett Hodges and Echo Elms Arguing in the Common Room 0 Brett Hodges and Echo Elms 1 5

Echo Elms

March 11, 2007 12:54 PM

Do I really need glasses ? [tag: Mateo] by Echo Elms

Echo kept his cool long enough to get his dormroom door closed. He thudded the textbook down on his desk and stood in the middle of the room. He took a step forward, sat down, laid down, moved to his desk, paced, and, finally, ended up sitting on the floor, one knee bent the other straight, his and head and back against the chilly wall.

It was awful what he'd said back there. Maybe it was wrong to make someone eat their own words. Brett recognized them, too, and that made it worse. That was low, Echo, real low.

And, of all the weirdo stuff Brett knew about him that he could have announced to the common room, why'd he say that about glasses? And why now, when Echo had just been wondering the same thing for a few paranoid moments just a couple weeks ago? And reading had been giving him headaches. Did that mean something?

"Do I squint?" he asked his roommate suddenly, "Like really needing glasses squinting?"
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21 Echo Elms Do I really need glasses ? [tag: Mateo] 93 Echo Elms 0 5

Matt

March 11, 2007 1:58 PM

Would it be a bad thing if you did? by Matt

Matt had been laying on his stomach on his bed flipping through a notebook when Echo entered the dormroom. Matt glanced up at him for a moment, watching him in mild amusement before returning his gaze to his notebook.

Long ago Matt had dubbed Echo as strange. They were the only Pecari boys in their year, but Matt knew next to nothing about Echo aside from the fact that he only liked hanging out with girls. Matt didn't know if that simply meant Echo was scheming to get on the good side of girls for future 'closeness' with them...or if he was a girl himself. Sure Meredith was cute and Elly was funny, but Matt didn't think that Echo was sly enough to really get anywhere with either of them aside from friendship. Which left the other option.

Matt had read about those types of boys before. He didn't really understand a lot of it and didn't really know whether or not it applied to Echo or not, but it was really the only conclusion that Matt could really make.

But all of that was besides the point. Having lived with Echo for nearly a year and a half, anything the boy did really didn't mean much to Matt. So, when the boy came into the room and wander around for a moment, Matt continued to read through his notebook as though Echo weren't there at all.

"Do I squint? Like really needing glasses squinting?"

Matt looked up at Echo in surprise. For a moment, Matt thought Meredith or Elly had come into the room while Matt wasn't paying attention. But, after a quick glance, he discovered it was still just the two of them. "Er..." How was Matt suppose to answer that? He had no idea if Echo squinted or not. It wasn't like he stared at him for long periods of time to notice such a thing. "I don't know, maybe...I guess." Matt answered uncertainly.\n\n

0 Matt Would it be a bad thing if you did? 0 Matt 0 5

Echo

March 11, 2007 6:10 PM

Not really. I mean, I'm already dorky so who cares? by Echo

"I don't know, maybe...I guess," Matt answered, sounding like he didn't really know or care. Why should he? They really only said practical things to each other like, "Are you ready for lights out?" and "Aren't you gettting up for class?" Echo rolled his head, still against the wall, to look at the ceiling. He'd tell his mom and she'd bring him to the eye doctor over break. It wasn't a big deal. It was just a big deal because Brett noticed it before he did.

"What do you do when you fight with your brother?" he asked. This would be a perfect time to have a bouncy ball to throw at the far wall so he could look like he didn't care about the answer. Echo wasn't big on sharing. Elly and Meredith were fun, and Saul was always a riot, but Brett was the one he told stuff to (if he told stuff at all. Usually Brett just picked up on stuff -- like the glasses). But where did he go when it was about Brett? Well, obviously, to his parents wasn't the right answer because his parents had gone to Brett's parents and Brett's parents had gone to Brett and now Brett was mad. Matt was there, but it wasn't like Matt would care. Maybe that made it better.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

0 Echo Not really. I mean, I'm already dorky so who cares? 0 Echo 0 5

Matt

March 11, 2007 10:43 PM

Well, apparently you by Matt

Matt was watching Echo closely for a moment trying to figure out exactly what was wrong with the kid this time. But when Echo decided to change the subject on him, Matt was left speechless for a moment. What did squinting to the point of needing glasses have anything to do with what happens when Matt fought with his brothers?

Finally, after a moment of silence, Matt returned his gaze to his notebook. They were planning on a starter prank for after midterm and Matt wanted to make sure all the finishing touches were done and in place so that they can do it rather quickly once they returned to Sonora. Matt wanted to do it before Midterm, but if they got in trouble and then went home...well, it wouldn't be all that fun of a vacation.

"Which one?" Matt mused. It was semi-joking, with every sibling, fights had a tendency to be very different. But, Matt continued without waiting for Echo to actually respond. "I suppose it depends on what we fought about. I mean, we usually don't fight. Josh and me. We'll fight Paco or sometimes Jake and a lot of times Bella and Sofia. But hardly each other. And when we do fight, it's over stupid things like which spell to use or the fact that Josh can be way too serious sometimes."

Matt paused for a moment so that he could shift positions. After a moment, he was sitting on his bed, notebook closed, his attention on Echo. He didn't understand why Echo was asking something like that, as far as Matt knew, Echo didn't have any siblings. Or, there weren't pictures to claim that he did. Not like Matt, anyway, who's side of the room was decorated with various pictures of family and posters of his favorite band and quidditch team. "But, it never lasts long. Not any of us ever stay mad for very long at all. Maybe it's just us or maybe because we know that the fights are completely ridiculous."

Matt never talked seriously before with anyone outside of his family. He had no idea why he was even saying any of this to Echo. After another pause, Matt shrugged, "If it's a bad fight, then, one of us will apologize and then the other. Sometimes we do it right away and sometimes Mama has to intervene. But, by the end, we're always friends again. Why do you want to know, Echo?" Matt finally asked, curious as to why his roommate seemed so...down.\n\n

0 Matt Well, apparently you 0 Matt 0 5

Echo Elms

March 12, 2007 1:49 PM

Meh, no biggie by Echo Elms

At first Echo thought Matt wasn't even going to answer him, but when he did it was pretty good stuff. Like, he'd thought about it, took the question at least mostly seriously.

"...Why do you want to know, Echo?" Matt finished.

"It's Brett," Echo said, glancing in Matt's direction and finding him looking back at him. "He's a first year here -- we've been friends since like second grade. So just now he comes up and starts yelling at me for talking about him with my parents. He's all like, 'It's none of your business. I don't write home telling my mom you need glasses' and stuff like that. I bet he doesn't either, he probably writes like two sentences when he writes her at all. What am I supposed to say, 'oh, Brett's doing great' when he's like moping around being all homesick-like? I can't do that. I mean, I was just trying to look out for him, you know? And ask them what I should do. I didn't think my parents would talk to his mom."

"So now he's all like crazy mad at me, and I didn't help at all, I was being just as dumb as he was. Good job, me, way to mess things up more." Echo sighed out a little more anger. He was starting to come down from angry to merely agitated.\n\n

21 Echo Elms Meh, no biggie 93 Echo Elms 0 5

Matt

March 12, 2007 9:39 PM

Well, alright then by Matt

Matt didn't know who Brett was, but apparently he was someone Echo cared a lot about. It only increased Matt's opinion of him liking the same gender. It really wasn't something Matt minded, Echo was an alright sort of guy even if he was a bit on the weird side, so if he was gay and had something with this 'Brett' guy, then Matt would have been relatively supportive as a roommate could be.

Matt listened closely as Echo explained the situation to him. They seemed more like siblings than anything else. From time to time, Matt's mom would ask how one of his siblings were doing (mainly Jake and Bella since neither really wrote anything remotely personal to their parents), but Matt would always just tell them the generic answer to that, 'They seem to be doing alright' or something to that effect. It wasn't Matt's job to keep his parents posted on the inner goings of his siblings.

"You don't have any siblings, do you?" Matt asked, though really it was rhetorical. Matt sighed quietly. It was hard for those who didn't have to share or know the limits of others to really understand what was appropriate and what wasn't. "Listen, Echo, I've got loads of siblings and there are just some things that you never say or do. One, is switching your sister's shampoo with hair removal creme. It doesn't roll over very well with them."

Matt paused in hopes that his semi-joke (and really, him and Matt had done that to their sister, though it ended up being Hannah instead of Sofia, but the results were the same) had at least lightened the mood for Echo at least somewhat. Matt was never good at serious talk, Josh was better, Jake even more so, but Matt was terrible at it. "But when it comes to telling people stuff...I don't know, you just...don't. It's like, spilling someone's secret if you tell an adult how another person is handling things. I mean, small mentions such as, 'saw Brett today, he looked a little down, but maybe it was a bad day?' but you never actually say anything really."

He was sure that none of this really made sense to anyone who didn't have siblings. For whatever reason, Matt's logic didn't mean that it was all that good of logic. "Anyway, what's done is done. You can always apologize to him, tell him that you didn't mean to say something he didn't want to be told. And, when that's said and done, invite him to do things. Instead of only hanging out with those girls, hang out with him and stuff."\n\n

0 Matt Well, alright then 0 Matt 0 5

Echo Elms

March 24, 2007 6:23 PM

Wells are deep. by Echo Elms

Matt explained stuff and Echo listened. He was right, Echo didn't have any siblings. Since his parents were his primary "friends" before he came to Sonora -- him and Brett had sorta lost touch for awhile, and then there was that whole homeschool thing (it was starting to seem like a featureless blur of lonely friendlessness and wasted time, but he couldn't remember actually having been lonely, in fact he thought he had liked it but couldn't remember why) -- all these little nuances of friendship everyone else seemed to know were the worst. Just when he thought he had got the hang of it, they went and changed all the rules.

"Anyway, what's done is done," Matt finished in a way that reminded Echo of his dad. "You can always apologize to him, tell him that you didn't mean to say something he didn't want to be told. And, when that's said and done, invite him to do things. Instead of only hanging out with those girls, hang out with him and stuff."

There was more rule changing. Apologizing he could handle, but why should he hang out less with Elly and Meredith? What did that have to do with anything? Elly and Meredith didn't get mad at him for no reason... well, he guessed, Brett had a reason. But if he did something dumb in front of the girls, they'd just be amused like they were about most things cause they were girls, while Brett would get on his case about it -- not in a bad way, most of the time, but sometimes it would be. And all Brett wanted to talk about was home and then tease him about Elly -- well, not all. But lately.

But that shouldn't stop him from hanging out with Brett, should it? Maybe Matt's second point was good too. Not so much in spending less time with the girls (he didn't get that -- and he didn't "only hang out with those girls"; he hung out with Saul too. But Matt probably didn't know that), but maybe more time with Brett would be okay. Even with the girls, Saul, and Brett around, he still kept a lot of loner time. Maybe he could give some of that up. Usually he just did homework and half of the time he was passed out on his books for a good part of it anyway and that was getting kinda old.

"Yeah, okay, thanks," he said to Matt after he thought it over. So he would have to apologize and then figure out something they could do, maybe with other kids. Maybe start a soccer group. Matt might even be interested in that. "I'll let him cool off first I guess." \n\n

21 Echo Elms Wells are deep. 93 Echo Elms 0 5