I'm not the boy you remember [Locked to forgess]

[cantletyoutouch]

Arthur had been gone for a few months with no way of contacting Eames. No cellphone reception that was their norm... nothing. It hurt to not have her there to help him through the rough patches. Through his parents having some kind of fight and his old man leaving them. So when he does return he won't be the same as his best friend remembers

Comments

[forgess]

It's kind of creepy how much Arthur's mum has changed, how drastically different the woman in front of Eames is from the one she thought she'd known a few months ago. Arthur had never said anything. Never mentioned that his parents were having problems and when he and his mum had up and left, to his grandmother's (on his mum's side) house in fuck-all Iowa, Eames had barely had time to be properly mad at him before she couldn't speak to him anymore.

They'd spoken a total of four times. Four times in three and a half months. The verbal equivalent to having a phantom limb and Eames had been mad- so fucking mad she'd thought next time I'm just gonna tell him off. Tell him to leave me the fuck alone if he thinks he can just fuck off whenever he wants and leave me, but she never did. She'd always picked up the phone on the second ring, fairly diving across her room to get to the phone because at least he remembered to call her

[cantletyoutouch]

Arthur hadn't wanted to leave and Eames knew it. He'd said as much in their text messages before all this stupid shit happened. Especially when his grandmother wasn't someone he enjoyed staying with. Too much shit going on and not enough...

He'd heard the door click shut but he doesn't turn toward Eames. There's too much on his mind so he keeps his back to her. Stares out the window at nothing at all. There's nothing but silence though.

[ooc: I SO need more teen!Arthur icons. lol But I can never find ones I like. Damn me being picky.]

[forgess]

And yeah, maybe Eames knew it, deep down, and that's why she never once missed a call, always replying to his texts with a scary speed, like he might forget that he texted her, but its easier to be chuffed at him. To see him leaving as a betrayal and not what it was, him keeping his mum together as best he could. Eames could be terribly selfish that way.

Now, close enough that with one bound toward him she could close the distance between them, Eames is suddenly, inexplicably shy. As if she's never met this boy with the stiff shoulders, and maybe, in a way, that would be easier, because she wouldn't have to feel like she missed a huge chunk of Arthur's life. Like she's trying to pick up something where they left off, Arthur stern but pliable in her hands, Eames just happy to be around.

"Oi," Eames says, hitting the heel of her shoe against his wall to get his attention. "I wait a million years for you to come back and you're just gonna stand there, not even gonna say hi?"

(( ooc: Brick and Manic have kinda young jgl. idk idk

[cantletyoutouch]

There were days that he did forget he'd texted her. Days where his mind wasn't fully comprehending what was going on. Eames... she'd understand and know. Hell he'd never admit it but she needed her to get through most of this. However, cellphone reception sucked out in the middle of nowhere. He couldn't have her face to face like he'd needed. Someone to cling to... to rant to. Or hell to have take his mind off the glaringly obvious. His old man had left them and left him to take care of his mother.

"What's there to say?" He probably doesn't even notice it himself, but his voice holds a flat tone. A coldness almost that would've never been pointed toward Eames. Then again he'd never been a 'cold' kid before. He'd always been the kid who had a smile on his face. Helped Eames with her problems at home with her drunken idiot of a mother.

Now though... now Arthur just felt... lost.

[forgess]

Eames watches him as he walks to the car, his spine ramrod straight and his limbs barely moving at all by his sides. He looks like he's walking away from the scene of a crime, unperturbed by the dust that rises in the aftermath of utter chaos. He folds into the passenger seat and Eames slips behind the wheel, getting them out of there as fast as possible.

She doesnt ask where they're going, just picks a direction and goes that way figuring if Arthur thinks of a place he wants to go specifically he'll let her know. For now they're just driving, in any direction that signifies "away."

As always, Eames has a total of one hand on the wheel at any given time, her right hand unoccupied and she kind of needs it to be. She flicks on the radio, finding a station Arthur wouldn't normally side-eye her for, and then brushes her hair back, behind her ear, before letting it fall back to the space between them. There's a lot they could say, but there's also a lot that could be left unsaid.

[cantletyoutouch]

He lets his eyes close and lets the sound of the car, the sound of her breathing and the radio sooth him. Sooth him as much as possible anyway. To be honest he's not satisfied. There's no telling what would or wouldn't satisfy him right now. All he wants is... hell, he doesn't know!

When her hand falls between them he reaches over and threads his fingers through hers. It feels... right. Though if she expects a specific place out of him then she won't be getting one. Hell they could go back to her place for all he cared. Her mother would just have to watch out because he's liable to snap at any moment.

[forgess]

Only about one and a half eyes on the road, though that too is her norm, not that she advertises the fact, Eames watches Arthur from the corner of her eye. He looks like he's learning how to relax after three months of being in the same position, holding the same neutral pose so everything doesn't come crashing down upon him like the gigantic shit show his life's turned into.

She really should have fucking been there for him.

About to start that strange cocktail of anger and self-pity and frustration, Arthur's fingers slip through hers. She shoots him a smile from behind her fringe and taps out the tune of the radio on his knuckles, not giving a fuck where they end up because they're together again and that's all that really matters to Eames. It might matter later, where they're going or what they plan to do, but for now... Eames gives Arthur's hand a squeeze.

"My mum tried to make me get a job," Eames ventures, the while you were gone remains unsaid; she's not sure if she wants to bring Iowa up again at all.

[cantletyoutouch]

Feeling the squeeze of her hand he allows himself a small smile. It's not as bright as it used to be but its there. So he just listens to her talk. Listens to the taps on his knuckles. Though he can't help but shake his head.

"Your mother is stupid, needs to get off her lazy ass and do something with her life. Something meaningful."