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smackenzie"Either he's bi or he's been repressing it." Lea finished her pie and reached across the table to snag a french fry.
"We're gonna find out."
"You think it's a bad idea, don't you," Laurie said after a minute. Lea took another of his french fries and shrugged.
"I don't know. Have you tried maybe talking to him?"
"I came home from work and found him in my apartment. It was two in the morning and I wasn't really awake enough to have that conversation. Besides, you know he's not the most talkative kid." Although in retrospect it seemed like Danny really had wanted to talk about it, he just wasn't sure how. "In the morning I had to hustle off to the restaurant and when I got back he was gone." He finished his beer and tried to consider what else he could do to help his half brother.
"Well, if you didn't take him to the Blind Pig, what else would you do?"
"Beats me. Go watch him practice one day and meet this Marcus guy myself. That's the guy Danny's hot for," he explained to Lea's blank look. She nodded. "This is just weird, you know? Does this kind of thing run in the family?"
"What? Not being able to work out if you're gay or not?"
"No, being gay in the first place. What else am I gonna do?"
"How did you know you were gay? I wonder if anyone's listening to us...."
"I realized I was thinking about the football team more than the cheerleaders." That was kind of Laurie's stock phrase - it was true, but it was also kind of funny, and it tended to defuse (at least a little) other people's prejudices. "Kissing girls didn't excite me. But I didn't have to kiss one to know that."
But Danny had kissed a girl and had decided it wasn't for him. Although maybe it was just Briana who didn't do it for him, and not girls in general.
Laurie ate the last few bites of his hamburger and finished his beer. That was another reason to take Danny to the Pig - to put him in the path of cute straight girls and cute gay boys, and see who honed in on him, and who he went after. And there would be good music and Laurie could talk to the bartender and maybe Lea would come with them, so he could also talk to her and he'd have someone to scope out boys with. It wasn't as much fun when you had to do it alone.
"You wanna come with us?" he asked her.
"Sure. I'll keep you out of trouble." She grinned.
"Yeah, right," Laurie snorted. He wasn't sure he was any more settled about his half brother than he was that afternoon. If anything he had more doubts about his ability to help. Clearly he was overthinking things.
"Are you worrying about this?" Lea asked. "You're worrying about this. I'll keep an eye on both of you at the Pig, ok? Danny's problem could be a lot of things. You're trying to help him the best way you know how. It's not what I would do, I don't think, but it might work. I don't think you're going to traumatize him or anything. Oh, I know!" She grinned impishly. Laurie raised an eyebrow in anticipation of a very silly suggestion. "Introduce him to Nico. If that doesn't convince Danny he's gay, nothing will, and you'll both know for sure he's straight as a board."
Nico was the lead singer for Book of Fish. He was a good performer and a bit of a drama queen, he looked really sexy in his vinyl pants, and he had a reputation as an equal-opportunity slut. He liked the boys and the girls, sometimes at the same time. If he came on to Danny and Danny turned him down, it could only mean Danny was hopelessly hetero.
It was a thought.
But no, Laurie didn't want to subject his half brother to that. Nico was single now, which meant he'd be playing the field, which meant he was stuck firmly in "fuck 'em and forget 'em" mode, and while that was ok for him, and usually ok for Laurie, it really wasn't ok for Danny.
"Uh... no," was all he said to Lea.
"Just a suggestion." She was still smirking. "Maybe you should introduce yourself...."
"To Nico? We've met." Now it was Laurie's turn to smirk, although his and Nico's meeting had been just that, a meeting. "Hey, Nico, have you met Laurie Dolan?" "No, I don't think I have...." "Laurie, Nico. Nico, Laurie." "Hey." "Hey."
"Oh really."
"Really."
"And you survived the experience?"
"All he did was say hi."
"Uh-huh."
"Really."
Lea didn't look convinced. Laurie waggled his eyebrows suggestively at her, just because. Now she looked even less convinced.
"I'm not gonna chase Nico Parris," he said. "He's got enough groupies. And I'm not letting him near my brother."
"But some random cute boy is ok?"
"Sure." Now Laurie felt like he was on more solid footing. Sometimes a little sarcasm from Lea was all it took. He really loved her - she kept him grounded, and stopped him when he started to overthink something, even when she didn't realize that's what she was doing. "It's how I knew. If it doesn't work, it doesn't work. Mom and Jeremy can pay his therapy bills."
"You're not going to wig him out so he has to go into therapy. That's really mean."
"I'm not gonna do it on purpose! Jesus, Lea."
"Oh come on, I'm kidding. Do you not want to talk about it any more?" Laurie shook his head. "Is that 'No, I don't want to talk about it,' or 'No, I do want to talk about it?'"
"I don't want to talk about it any more." He really didn't. There was the overthinking thing, and the thought that maybe there wasn't anything to say anyway. At a certain point it was really Danny's problem.
"Ok. I'll shut up," Lea said cheerfully. "I'll still go to the Blind Pig with you, though. If you want me to."
"Of course. Who else can I drool with? I could take Bran or someone from Calla, but they're not gonna get the significance of a hot guy in faded jeans."
"A girl would. Aren't there any gay waiters at that place?"
"A few, yeah. But they're mostly sensitive actors and all they want to do on their own time is bitch about other actors and how hard it is to be an artist and make money." Laurie rolled his eyes. It was like being in a room of aspiring musicians, except with slightly more eight-by-ten head shots.
They talked about a random assortment of things besides Danny's sudden sexual confusion. Lea ordered a glass of milk, which made the waitress look at her funny, and Laurie had a piece of Guinness apple pie with ice cream, and they managed to work out how much each of them owed on the bill AND calculate a decent tip, which was a lot harder than it sounded. Laurie was a musician and a history major, and Lea cut dead people open for a living, and neither of them was a math whiz. Figuring out the check was always risky for the waitress, who nine times out of ten ran the risk of not getting enough tip, even when she really deserved it.
You'd think Laurie would know how to split a check, since he'd been waiting tables himself for eight years, and had started out needing to be able to add and subtract in his head. But no, when it was his check for his dinner, he turned into a math moron.
He told Lea he'd call her tomorrow or Monday about the Blind Pig, and could he come get his guitar tomorrow afternoon, and then he went home. There was one message on his machine, from Danny: "Mom says I have to be home by midnight, but Tuesday's a go. I said you'd feed me. Come get me at seven." He sounded almost excited, but maybe Laurie was just projecting. Maybe everything would be ok after all.
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"We're gonna find out."
"You think it's a bad idea, don't you," Laurie said after a minute. Lea took another of his french fries and shrugged.
"I don't know. Have you tried maybe talking to him?"
"I came home from work and found him in my apartment. It was two in the morning and I wasn't really awake enough to have that conversation. Besides, you know he's not the most talkative kid." Although in retrospect it seemed like Danny really had wanted to talk about it, he just wasn't sure how. "In the morning I had to hustle off to the restaurant and when I got back he was gone." He finished his beer and tried to consider what else he could do to help his half brother.
"Well, if you didn't take him to the Blind Pig, what else would you do?"
"Beats me. Go watch him practice one day and meet this Marcus guy myself. That's the guy Danny's hot for," he explained to Lea's blank look. She nodded. "This is just weird, you know? Does this kind of thing run in the family?"
"What? Not being able to work out if you're gay or not?"
"No, being gay in the first place. What else am I gonna do?"
"How did you know you were gay? I wonder if anyone's listening to us...."
"I realized I was thinking about the football team more than the cheerleaders." That was kind of Laurie's stock phrase - it was true, but it was also kind of funny, and it tended to defuse (at least a little) other people's prejudices. "Kissing girls didn't excite me. But I didn't have to kiss one to know that."
But Danny had kissed a girl and had decided it wasn't for him. Although maybe it was just Briana who didn't do it for him, and not girls in general.
Laurie ate the last few bites of his hamburger and finished his beer. That was another reason to take Danny to the Pig - to put him in the path of cute straight girls and cute gay boys, and see who honed in on him, and who he went after. And there would be good music and Laurie could talk to the bartender and maybe Lea would come with them, so he could also talk to her and he'd have someone to scope out boys with. It wasn't as much fun when you had to do it alone.
"You wanna come with us?" he asked her.
"Sure. I'll keep you out of trouble." She grinned.
"Yeah, right," Laurie snorted. He wasn't sure he was any more settled about his half brother than he was that afternoon. If anything he had more doubts about his ability to help. Clearly he was overthinking things.
"Are you worrying about this?" Lea asked. "You're worrying about this. I'll keep an eye on both of you at the Pig, ok? Danny's problem could be a lot of things. You're trying to help him the best way you know how. It's not what I would do, I don't think, but it might work. I don't think you're going to traumatize him or anything. Oh, I know!" She grinned impishly. Laurie raised an eyebrow in anticipation of a very silly suggestion. "Introduce him to Nico. If that doesn't convince Danny he's gay, nothing will, and you'll both know for sure he's straight as a board."
Nico was the lead singer for Book of Fish. He was a good performer and a bit of a drama queen, he looked really sexy in his vinyl pants, and he had a reputation as an equal-opportunity slut. He liked the boys and the girls, sometimes at the same time. If he came on to Danny and Danny turned him down, it could only mean Danny was hopelessly hetero.
It was a thought.
But no, Laurie didn't want to subject his half brother to that. Nico was single now, which meant he'd be playing the field, which meant he was stuck firmly in "fuck 'em and forget 'em" mode, and while that was ok for him, and usually ok for Laurie, it really wasn't ok for Danny.
"Uh... no," was all he said to Lea.
"Just a suggestion." She was still smirking. "Maybe you should introduce yourself...."
"To Nico? We've met." Now it was Laurie's turn to smirk, although his and Nico's meeting had been just that, a meeting. "Hey, Nico, have you met Laurie Dolan?" "No, I don't think I have...." "Laurie, Nico. Nico, Laurie." "Hey." "Hey."
"Oh really."
"Really."
"And you survived the experience?"
"All he did was say hi."
"Uh-huh."
"Really."
Lea didn't look convinced. Laurie waggled his eyebrows suggestively at her, just because. Now she looked even less convinced.
"I'm not gonna chase Nico Parris," he said. "He's got enough groupies. And I'm not letting him near my brother."
"But some random cute boy is ok?"
"Sure." Now Laurie felt like he was on more solid footing. Sometimes a little sarcasm from Lea was all it took. He really loved her - she kept him grounded, and stopped him when he started to overthink something, even when she didn't realize that's what she was doing. "It's how I knew. If it doesn't work, it doesn't work. Mom and Jeremy can pay his therapy bills."
"You're not going to wig him out so he has to go into therapy. That's really mean."
"I'm not gonna do it on purpose! Jesus, Lea."
"Oh come on, I'm kidding. Do you not want to talk about it any more?" Laurie shook his head. "Is that 'No, I don't want to talk about it,' or 'No, I do want to talk about it?'"
"I don't want to talk about it any more." He really didn't. There was the overthinking thing, and the thought that maybe there wasn't anything to say anyway. At a certain point it was really Danny's problem.
"Ok. I'll shut up," Lea said cheerfully. "I'll still go to the Blind Pig with you, though. If you want me to."
"Of course. Who else can I drool with? I could take Bran or someone from Calla, but they're not gonna get the significance of a hot guy in faded jeans."
"A girl would. Aren't there any gay waiters at that place?"
"A few, yeah. But they're mostly sensitive actors and all they want to do on their own time is bitch about other actors and how hard it is to be an artist and make money." Laurie rolled his eyes. It was like being in a room of aspiring musicians, except with slightly more eight-by-ten head shots.
They talked about a random assortment of things besides Danny's sudden sexual confusion. Lea ordered a glass of milk, which made the waitress look at her funny, and Laurie had a piece of Guinness apple pie with ice cream, and they managed to work out how much each of them owed on the bill AND calculate a decent tip, which was a lot harder than it sounded. Laurie was a musician and a history major, and Lea cut dead people open for a living, and neither of them was a math whiz. Figuring out the check was always risky for the waitress, who nine times out of ten ran the risk of not getting enough tip, even when she really deserved it.
You'd think Laurie would know how to split a check, since he'd been waiting tables himself for eight years, and had started out needing to be able to add and subtract in his head. But no, when it was his check for his dinner, he turned into a math moron.
He told Lea he'd call her tomorrow or Monday about the Blind Pig, and could he come get his guitar tomorrow afternoon, and then he went home. There was one message on his machine, from Danny: "Mom says I have to be home by midnight, but Tuesday's a go. I said you'd feed me. Come get me at seven." He sounded almost excited, but maybe Laurie was just projecting. Maybe everything would be ok after all.
words: 1353
total words: 14,685
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Date: 2003-11-07 10:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-11-08 01:47 pm (UTC)