restinglichface | Open rp post!

[It's easy. Just walk past her. She's just standing there, after all, in the hallway, leaning against the lockers like they need help staying upright. She's not even paying attention to him. Lup doesn't even know he exists.

It's easy. Just leave the choir room and go. Easy.

Barry holds on to his book bag like it's his lifeline, shuffling through the door and down the hallway like he wants to be anywhere else. His eyes are on the floor, his body language tight and awkward, his attention anywhere than on the pretty girl with the perfect face and the cruel words.]

[Too bad for Barry that he isn’t quite as invisible as he thought.

The girl’s gaze is purposely directed elsewhere when the boy slips from the classroom, a huffing laugh falling from her mouth as another student gets shoved back against his locker by another bully, but Barry barely makes it two feet before he’s drawn Lup’s full attention. Her sharp smile turns towards him, pinning him beneath her intense gaze, a hand already falling to rest casually at her hip.]

Nerd alert! I didn’t take you for a choir boy, Bluejeans.

Edited 2018-11-24 23:16 (UTC)

[Just ignore them, Bar.

He can hear his mom's voice in his ears as the pretty girl perks up and directs her attention towards him. Just ignore them, and they'll lose interest. They'll get bored. Isn't that how it works?

But Lup is already sinking her teeth in. Calling him a nerd, calling him Bluejeans - is he never gonna live that down?! - and he can feel himself getting red and hot.

He wants to retaliate. But he also doesn't want to say anything mean to her. She's... too pretty to be mean to.]

... 's glee club, not choir...

[For just a moment, Lup’s predatory grin falters, a deafening silence descending upon the hallway.

And then she laughs, head thrown back and mouth open, the kind of full body laugh that makes her skinny frame tremble, that leaves every dangling piercing of hers swinging. There’s a few scattered chuckles from the other students, but no one laughs quite as hard as the girl. Too bad it can’t last forever. When she finally catches her breath, her cruel grin is right back to focusing on Barry, Lup pushing away from the locker to take a step closer to him.]

Shit, my man. I didn’t mean to offend you. You’re right. Glee club sounds a lot less lame than choir. [There’s no part of her tone that sounds even a hint sincere.] Got me there.

[He realizes a little too late how lame that made him sound, and before he can flip it around and somehow turn it into a cool joke, the girl is howling with laughter. If Barry was red before, he's scarlet now, fuming with humiliation as Lup and the other kids laugh at him.

God damn it.]

Y-You wouldn't get it, anyway. [He huffs, ducking his head and shrugging his book bag closer.] Doesn't involve rollerskates or crashing into people, s-so... kinda over yer head.

[With that sick burn out of the way, Barry tries to circle past her, wanting nothing more than to catch his bus in peace.]

[Barry goes beet red and Lup looks absolutely satisfied in how she’s drawn that color out of him, in how easily the other students turn against him just because she’s decided to pick on him today. The power she holds at school is intoxicating as ever, makes the teen feel strong and untouchable. And most of the time, she is.

But instead of just taking the insult and scurrying away, Barry tries to lash out at her with the final word before rushing off down the hallway.

Um, who the hell have him the right to talk to her like that? Lup huffs, glaring at the classmates who are left gossiping under their breath at his departure, before she’s hurrying on after him.]

What the heck does that mean? What like, singing off-key show tunes somehow makes you a better person?

[Fuck fuck fuck is she following him he just wants to! leave!! Why can't she just take the insult on the chin and leave him alone?

Not that he minds having her around. Barry likes being around her. Makes his tummy do wild flips, his heart beating thrice as fast. If only she wasn't so mean to him every time she saw him.]

I didn't say that. A-And we're not off-key. Okay? [He adjusts his glasses, frowning, still staring at the floor as he walks straight ahead, headed for the exit.] We're ninth in the state, actually. S-So...

Out of what? Ten?

[Barry’s been getting special attention from Lup for weeks now, the girl picking on him more and more with increasing frequency. Every single time she sees his face go red, she just wants to shove him over into the dirt and laugh, just to combat how his flustered stammering makes her feel.

Poor Barry just wants to escape but Lup’s long strides mean she keeps up with him easily.]

You know our roller derby team is like second in state, right? We’re kind of incredible.

Y-Yeah, yer second in state. And if Debbie hadn't sprained her ankle tryin' to juke around the blocker wall in th'second to last jam, y'would've been first in state and heading t'nationals.

[Barry clears his throat, pushing his glasses further up his nose, trying not to sound like the enormous pathetic nerd he 100% is. Of course, he doesn't know anything about roller derby - except he's started binging their YouTube videos because Lup looks incredible when she skates.

No one knows that, though. No one needs to know.]

E-Everybody knows that...

[Oh.

Whatever answer she was expecting, that was so not it. Lup stares over at Barry while he pushes his glasses up on his nose, surprise evident in the slight rise of her perfect brows. But it’s a pleasant surprise, the kind that leaves an unfamiliar warmth in her belly, making the girl feel like she should be squirming around in the feeling instead of trailing straight-shouldered after him.

Something about knowing Barry knows makes her toes tingle.

Silence drops between them, for just a moment, before Lup flicks her hair over her shoulder.]

Didn’t know nerds kept up with that kinda stuff. [Maybe not all nerds, maybe that’s just Barry. It could be a trick of the fluorescent lighting, but the girl’s smile looks like it softens.] But fuck Debbie, am I right?

Edited 2018-11-25 01:18 (UTC)

[Barry doesn't notice her brow raising or her smile softening, because he's decidedly not looking at her, instead clinging to his book bag and staring intently at the linoleum floor. Lup got really quiet all of a sudden. Is she mad at him? Is she gonna laugh at him again? Point and laugh at the nerd pretending to know what sports is before shoving him into a locker?

She doesn't. Instead, she cracks a joke. Barry feels like his heart is about to give out.]

I-- I, uh-- I w-wouldn't-- I-I mean, I get why she was m-made pivot an' all, but she, uh... totally overextended that time. [A pause, before adding,] Y-You'll get it next time.

Yeah, we will.

[Lup speaks with the confidence of someone at least twice her age, like it's absolute fact and anyone would be an idiot to think otherwise. But that's always been the vibe she's put out into the world, trying to appear older than she actually is, already bored with high school and ready for whatever comes next.

For all that he doesn't look at her, Lup can't take her eyes off of him, the full intensity of her stare never dying down.]

I haven't seen you at any games. You should come watch us play, Bluejeans. Drag your lame glee club friends and come see how a real sport works.

Wh-What, so you can make fun of me in front of th'whole school? I'm good, thanks.

[And while that is a legitimate fear of his, Lup humiliating him with a megaphone or something while every cool person at school is gathered around the rink, it does feel kinda nice to hear her asking him to come watch.

Barry can almost convince himself she actually wants him around.]

And glee's not lame, okay, nor is it a sport. Also, i-it's Barry. Not Bluejeans.

[He doesn't get to reject her first, thanks, that's against the rules.

The moment that "I'm good, thanks" slips from his mouth, Lup is already huffing, throwing her shoulders back and reaching out with one hand to shove him into the nearest locker. And that's that. Lup turns on heel and immediately stalks back the way they came, throwing up a hand as if waving his words away.]

Fine. Barold, whatever. Like I want your lame ass there anyway.

[So, on the one hand, the prettiest girl in school just touched him.

In and of itself, that's pretty swell. A beautiful person just laid their hand on him. In any other context, this would be a victory in Barry's book.

Except he'd just gotten shoved into a locker.

He hits the locker with his shoulder and head first, the metal door rattling fiercely under his weight, his book bag slipping from his grasp and falling to the floor. Barry whimpers on contact, then groans as he pushes himself off of it, his whole body burning with humiliation, head throbbing with pain.

More than the mortifying experience of being shoved into a locker in a populated hallway by the prettiest girl in school, Barry starts getting angry. All he'd done was retaliate to her bullying, and this is how she reacts?

Before he can stop himself, he's turning around to yell after her as she retreats into the crowd.]

O-Oh yeah? Like I wanna pay to watch you shove people around, anyway! [He's shaking with anger and adrenaline, not even thinking about the words tumbling out of his mouth, or everyone who can hear him.] Y-You do that for free all the time! 'S not even worth th'five bucks!!

[Lup's only made it a few feet before Barry's calling right back after her, his voice cutting right through her anger, right through the giant bruise he's left on her ego.

Even if it hadn't exactly been an invitation, Lup's not at all used to anyone saying no to her for anything, so the sting of one of the nerdiest boys in school rejecting her is going to sit with her for awhile. Especially if anyone else in the hallway heard them and will start spreading rumors.

Especially if those rumors get to her brother. Lup will never live it down.

But she's barely begun to stalk away when Barry's yelling back after her, not stepping down for a second, even after she's shoved him around. It's never taken her more than one shove to get someone to back down and scurry away before. Everything about this boy is surprising.

Too bad Lup can't just leave it alone.

She turns and both of her fists are clenched at her sides, pretty face twisted into an irritated scowl as she immediately stalks right back towards him.]

Say that to my face, nerdlord. I dare you.

[His first instinct when he sees Lup turn around and head straight back towards him is to tuck tail and bolt out of there. If he has to come back to school tomorrow after everyone saw Lup From Roller Derby beat the shit out of him, he might actually die.

But that rush of adrenaline is still surging through him, so he stands his ground, shaking as she approaches. Besides, he's sick and tired of being picked on all the time. He didn't do anything! Why is it anyone's business that he sits in the front of the classroom and Mr. Donavan in AP Physics loves him and he plays D&D at lunch and he's in glee club? He's never hurt anyone!]

Wh-Why are you so mean all th'time?

[It's nowhere near as loud as before, his voice cracking a little as he tries to keep from crying. His eyes nervously dart between her clenched fists and her angry expression, but he just keeps going.]

All y'do is shove people and say awful things. Y'already push people in roller derby, i-isn't that enough? [Barry rubs his arm.] That really hurt.

You don't know me! [Lup snaps back, her tight fists clenching at her side, but at least she isn't reaching forward to shove him again. Not yet.

There's so much more to her than just being an angry, argumentative teenage girl. It's not her fault that no one else can see any further than that. Besides, Lup doesn't need anyone's approval, especially not the approval of Barry J. Bluejeans. She has Taako, she doesn't need anyone else.

She never has before, why should that ever change? No matter how cute Barry looks when he nervously stands up against her.]

Besides, at least I'm mean to your face. I don't talk crap behind your back like everyone else at this school and then pretend to be your friend. [At least one group of girls nearby attempts to hide their embarrassment at that call out, turning away from the scene and quickly leaving through the crowd.] I'm the most honest person here and you know it.

[Huh.

This isn't about her just not liking him, is it?

Barry hadn't expected that at all, evidence of how taken aback he is written all over his beet red face. Some girls actually sneak away in the background, probably as surprised by Lup's angry reaction as he is.]

W-Well-- I don't talk crap behind yer back! Why are you shovin' me around? I didn't do anything!

[Still red and shaking and a little teary, Barry picks up his book bag from the ground and shrugs it back into place.] There's a difference between bein' honest and bein' mean. [A pause.] M-Maybe y'need better friends.

[It's not at all the kind of attention that Lup likes, but she huffs as the girls in the background sneak away, skinny arms crossing over her chest as she glares across the short distance at Barry. He looks surprised, still red and shaking and near to tears, but genuinely surprised in a way that makes Lup feel a little taken back too.

The last thing she ever wanted was to get in a public fight with Barry of all people, but it wasn't as if she could just walk away.]

Well then maybe you should accept friendly invites when they're handed out, Barold. Wasn't anything mean about that, was there?

Y'call me lame. A-And a nerd. All th'time.

[Barry frowns at the girl, watching her standing there with her arms crossed and over it written all over her pretty face. Meanwhile there's Barry, short and chubby and myopic, crumbled in on himself as he takes a pathetic, probably useless stand against a bully which, if school has taught him anything, is probably just going to make everything worse.

But he can't just... not. So he frowns at her.]

Yer always callin' me names or makin' fun of me or throwin' things at me in class. That's not funny o-or friendly. That's mean. [Barry starts turning around to leave.] No one would accept a "friendly invite" from someone who does that.

[It's only because he continues speaking that Lup doesn't respond to his accusation of her calling him lame and a nerd with 'well aren't you?'. But Barry stumbles forward with his response, frowning up at her, calling her out on her bullying that's been going on long since before they started school together. Now that he's actually putting it out there, it does sound mean, but that doesn't mean she appreciates being called that.

Something about the way that Barry's looking up at her with that frown against his mouth just makes her heavy.]

It's just a joke. [her response is a little weak, especially after he's just stated how unfunny it's been.] I do that with everyone. It doesn't mean anything. [a pause, Lup watching him turn to leave, her scowl dropping to her own frown.]

Taako an' I do the same to each other all of the time and I don't think he's mean.

[Barry barely catches her expression changing as he turns, her frown deepening, looking almost like she's more mad at herself than with him. That could just be his imagination. In fact, it probably is just his imagination. Why would she feel sympathetic towards him at all? Why would she care?

She doesn't even like him.]

Well, he's yer brother. You've known him all yer life. [Barry shrugs. Everybody knows the twins around here. They're both mega-pretty and mega-popular and mega-mean.] If I called you names all day, y'wouldn't think I was bein' nice to you.

Whatever. Doesn't matter. [Not wanting to keep arguing with someone clearly way out of his league, Barry storms out of the hallway, escaping into the schoolyard, wanting nothing more than to catch his bus and go home and play video games and forget this ever happened.]

[Even long after he's gone, Barry's words keep tumbling around in Lup's head, as if put on repeat, like she'll never be free of them. Even after she's back home for the evening, glaring angrily up at her ceiling at the memory of it all, she can't get the look he shot her out of her mind, his mouth curled into a distinct frown, disappointment edged around his expression.

Sure, anyone talking back to her, rejecting her invitations, or calling her mean would be enough to piss Lup off - though to be fair, at this age, she doesn't need much of a reason to go off - but knowing that it's Barry just makes it so much harder to just shake off and ignore. Not even getting her aggression out at the rink seems to do the trick. She's just going to pissed off until Barry J. Bluejeans finally apologizes and fesses up to his mistake.

So the next day at school her plan for retaliation is simple. She's just going to ignore him completely. Being taller than him, it's easy to direct her gaze right over him whenever they cross paths in the hallway, Lup never one to turn tail and go the other way, she just barrels on through, pretending he doesn't exist, not allowing him so much as a look of acknowledgement. And it works for most of the day, until they end up in History together near the end of the school day.

That's when she starts throwing paper balls at his head again, right back to her usual bullshit.]

[For all his concerns and anxieties throughout the night and the next morning, Barry somehow feels like he's hit jackpot when Lup doesn't beat him up first thing before Chem. In fact, she totally and completely ignores him. Doesn't even look at him. Not a single comment, not even a glare from her brother, just... complete freedom.

It almost kind of hurts to not have her attention anymore, if he's being honest. But he'd been so scared she would knock his teeth out as soon as she saw him, he'd barely gotten any sleep at all. This, he's decided, is much better. Sure, some of the football players give him a hard time at lunch, but that's just a natural part of the food chain. They're always mean to the culture club kids.

By the time he's in History right at the end of the day, sitting in his usual spot in the front of the class, he's almost completely forgotten about Lup ever having been mean to him.

Until he feels a little paper ball hit the back of his head. And another. And another. The look he pins her with is one of utter betrayal and disappointment. It hasn't even been a whole day, and she's still doing this.

Uncharacteristically, Barry has his bag packed before the end of class and is one of the first ones out of the room as the bell rings, making a beeline for his locker, stuffing everything inside with the force of a boy with a broken heart. If he can just get his things out of the way and rush to the choir room, maybe he can avoid her until she's left school completely.]

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