restinglichface | Open rp post!

Hm

[Spoken like a boy who thinks the girl on the other end is full of shit.

That seems to be the end of it for now, Lup conceding to letting him return to her homework, leaving Barry to stew on his own and ignore how weird his body feels from talking to her. He’s not sure if it’s a nice feeling - it feels like he’s being tickled and experiencing vertigo at the same time, a nauseating panicked sucking sensation right in his gut pulling him closer to a cliff’s edge, even as his skin feels all tingly and nice. It’s confusing. Barry doesn’t like confusing.

At least it’s over... he thinks, for maybe seven blissful seconds, before the chime of a new message pulls him right back in again. What’s with her?? Can’t she take a vague conversation ender for what it is???]

Um?
Finishing up your essay? And
getting started on our bio project?
Why?

oh right

[she kind of gave him a lot to do. didn't she?]

what abt fri afternoon??
we should like
skip class and hang

[UM

IS THIS REAL LIFE]

I
um
I was going to spend Friday doing my own homework.......

[NO BARRY YOU IDIOT SAY YES SAY YES SAY YES—]

[U H

THIS IS NOT ALLOWED]

so what
homework is more fun than chilling w me???
is that what ur saying

[this is the nightmare scenario]

I
That’s
I never said that!!!

But!!!

[BUT. W.H.A.T.]

Maybe we can hang after I finish your essay..? Before I start our chem thing! I can finish my own homework night before no prob!!

[what is she even doing?? she should be calling him four eyes and slamming him into lockers, not feeling a little breathless that this giant nerd actually agreed to hang out with her.

no one can ever know.]

yeah whatevs if that works its chill i guess
just text me whenever u finish up my essay and we can go to the mall or like
hang at ur house or something
doesnt matter
just like
u know

[stop TYPING]

cool

Oh
Yes
Okay
Cool

I will need your phone number then I suppose

[Did he actually just ask for a girl’s number?? The boys on the forum are never gonna believe him!!!!]

If you come to my house, we can just tell mom we’re working on the chem thing
I guess
We can play board games or um
watch tv

what is she like
home all of the time
thats so lame
shes not gonna hover over us is she
i dont chill well w parents

also like gimme urs first

Yes? She’s retired...
And she’s NOT lame.

I’ll put up with a lot, but not you talking crap about my mom. Just to make that real clear.

[He lets that sit for a minute before he gives Lup his phone number. If she’s gonna be gross about his mom, he’ll suggest they just head to the mall instead. No cute girl is worth hurting his mom’s feelings.]

[lup's pretty sure all moms are lame by default, but she's not going to talk shit about barry's mom. yet. that's only if she deserves it.]

yeah yeah
im not a total bitch calm down
if shes doesnt talk crap abt me i wont abt her either

i can be nice sometimes

Why would she talk crap about you?
I have never heard her say a mean thing about anyone or anything ever.
She’s gonna like you even if you’re mean to her.

I won’t like you though.

[lups pretty sure nice parents dont exist]

ugh whatever
i said id be nice get off my ass
do u wanna hang or not

Sure
AFK got homework to finish

[And that’s where he leaves it for the night, his thoughts and tummy all sorts of disrupted and confused. It’s weird, both having butterflies over the cutest girl at school wanting to hang out with him, and fighting down the angry knots over someone potentially disrespecting his mother. He doesn’t like it.

It helps to crank out some homework. Sets his mind right again.

By the time Friday rolls around, Lup has received both her projects that were due, the pop quiz answers, and a project outline for chem, all sitting in her inbox. Barry’s sitting through second period physics with heavy eyelids, trying to stay awake and take notes with his brain still buzzing - he was up all night working on all his homework, which has taken the backseat for a couple days, and he’s so sleepy. The unexpected buzz of his phone in his pocket wakes him up just enough to take a confused peek at the screen under the desk. No one ever messages him in class??]

[Lup's relieved to leave the conversation there, not messaging Barry again until this very text message, even after seeing all of her assignments come trickling in through her inbox. No thank yous, no see you on friday, just silence.

Until now.]

sup its me
meet me behind the gym

[no mention of their last conversation, just direct and to the point]

[Barry blinks blearily at his phone, not recognizing the number, not quite connecting the dots - until he googles the number and sees Lup’s name. This is actually happening, huh.

He glances quickly up at the teacher, who has his back turned to them, writing down formulas on the whiteboard with his illegible handwriting, the squeaky marker almost echoing in the otherwise silent classroom. Good. A window of opportunity.]

Lup?
You want me to come now?
I’m in class, I’ll be there after the bell.

[Whatever kid is sitting next to Barry shoots him an exaggerated look of surprise at how recklessly he's texting right in the middle of class, so completely out of character, but leaves it at that.

Lup's response flies back almost immediately.]

what a wet blanket
u should just sneak out who even cares
doubt anyone will even notice

but fine w/e
see u then dorkus

[He doesn’t pay the look Jason gives him (Jason? Jason. Barry’s pretty sure his name is Jason.) any mind. If he knew Barry was texting Lup of all people, he wouldn’t be so quick to judge.

It’s a slow process, texting back. He has to keep glancing up at the teacher, occasionally take notes, answer when called on, all while carrying out a text convo. Multitasking is so hard.]

Unlike some people, I have perfect attendance.
Mr Mars would notice if I suddenly disappeared, trust me.

Why don’t you just go to class??

[No like there. The teacher would probably be just as surprised.]

dont need it
can keep up my grades w/o wasting all day every day
lifes too short to spend it all sitting in class
too many things to do

theres a whole world out there bluejeans
u should be out there experiencing it

Name’s still not Bluejeans

The world will still be out there when I graduate
Then I can explore
Until then I can learn a ton about it in class so I can appreciate it better
School isn’t just about grades you know

I don’t know how you do it
Mom would never let me get away with skipping so much school

id rather be out there learning from experience
than listening to nobodies drone on and on abt stuff theyve only read in books

and how do u know if u never try ;)
guess im just lucky that my brother skips more than me so theres no one to tattle

Taako skips more??
:-0
How are you two not expelled?

Oh crap hang on

[There’s silence for a while, until another text ticks in ten minutes later.]

Mr Mars almost caught me
See you after the bell

have u EVER seen him in class?????
p sure hes actually allergic to it

yeah yeah go play teachers pet see u soon

[And surprisingly, she's right where she says she'll be whenever Barry finally makes it behind the gym, fully engrossed in scrolling through her phone, leaning casually against the building, one foot planted on the ground and the other pressed to the concrete wall. She's wearing a mini skirt and an oversized, cropped sweater, baggy sleeves scrunched up to her elbows, headphones over her ears with her music just loud enough to be faintly heard even with the distance between them.]

[Barry can’t quite shake the feeling that he’s being punked. It’s just something about it, the fat nerdy kid shyly approaching the gorgeous popular girl leaning against the wall behind the gym, her outfit definitely not meeting school dress codes, her demeanor that of someone who’s way too cool to ever be seen with someone like him, someone who’s too good for the air she breathes.

Standing there, distracted by her music and her phone, she looks like someone out of a movie. Not someone Barry chats with online and knows the name of, not someone who knows his name, let alone wants to hang out with him.

It’s surreal. Like he’s dreaming.

Nervously clutching his book bag, he gets close enough that she should be able to see him, trying to make eye contact with her. It’s... way harder talking to her IRL than online.]

[He edges closer to her, tries to catch the young woman’s eye, but she’s too deep into a conversation now, her back pressing more against the wall while she leans so her fingers can fly over her phone screen, quick in a way that shows how little she second guesses herself. She smiles to herself while she types, lifting her phone just a touch closer to her face.

Barry’s close enough to hear an incoming message vibrate in her hand, the clack or her perfectly manicured nails against the screen, the fast-paced beat of whatever she’s listening to.

Might have to try a little harder, Barry.]

[Well, dang. He’s gonna actually have to talk to a girl right now, huh?

Barry tries to summon the courage to approach, to get close enough that she’ll see him, but no such luck. Lup is completely ignoring him in favor of her phone screen. How do people do this?? When he’s sitting at his keyboard, it’s different. It doesn’t feel like he’s talking to a real person then, he just punches words into a window and words come back at him. He feels more in control then. Like the inherently unpredictable nature of humans doesn’t play a factor at all. But now that she’s standing right there, flesh and blood and clacking nails, Barry stiffens. He’s almost close enough to smell her now.

He chokes. Can’t do it. Impossible. Can’t go through with it. He’ll just go back to class and pretend he never spoke to her and finish their chem project and that’s it, that’s it, he’ll never have to speak to her ever again, they will graduate and he’ll move to a big city and go to university and get his degree and the memory of the cute but scary girl who made Barry feel so so small will become distant and fleeting, ]

E-Excuse me?

[Fuck. He must be a glutton for punishment. Stepping forward, Barry taps the girl on her shoulder, giving a nervous little wave once she looks up at him.]

I uh— I’m here.

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