Drop Out

[catchacold]

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[mostlyajerk]

"I have a spare pair here, yes." Hartley frowned, thinking about this logically for a moment. "I very much doubt we have the same pants length." Given how tall Barry was, that was a rather obvious assumption. More importantly... "Tell me you actually know the combination for this locker, because if you've forgotten it, I'm going to need tools." Which wouldn't be that much of a difficulty for him to procure, but he'd prefer to get this done with faster. He had places to be after all.

[gotspeed]

"Anything is better than being caught in the hall in my Spider-man undies." Barry insisted as he leaned forward and tried to make eye contact with Hartley. It wasn't easy. "Four-seven-nine-seven. That's my combo. Just give me some pants to tide me over, I'll roll them up like shorts. I can probably get mine back soon... I just need to find where they threw it." Hopefully it wasn't in a tree again. Or down the toilet. "Thanks Hartley, you're the best!"

[mostlyajerk]

"Yes, well. It seems as though the bar has been set rather low for that." Hartley turned the lock to open the locker, smiling a little when he caught Barry's eyes through the bars. "Spider-man is the one in red, yes? I saw posters for the movie. Andrew Garfield. You look a little like him." Only better, but he wisely refrained from sharing that observation. Instead he opened the locker and turned his blushing face away to reach for the pants he'd promised Barry.

[gotspeed]

"I do? Awesome! I love Spider-man. Yeah, that was the newest one, it's not bad a series but it could be better. I prefer the comics still. Do you read them? You should read them." As the locker finally opened, Barry swiftly took the pants and wasted no time yanking them up and on. He moved from the locker and leaned down, rolling the legs up so they looked less stupid. "I have a load of comics, you should borrow some. I just got up to the Superior Spider-man. He and Doc Ock just traded bodies and it's totally blowing my mind." Barry stood back up and grinned at Hartley, shutting the locker door behind him.

[mostlyajerk]

That was a lot better than leaving the legs hanging about two inches from Barry's ankles. Hartley really wished he wasn't that much shorter than Barry, it made him feel self-conscious somehow. He focused on getting his books back out and shook his head. "I'm sorry. I'm sure they are a good read, but currently I don't have room for recreational reading on my schedule." Also, even if there had been, comics really wouldn't be acceptable. He wondered if they really could be any good. Maybe. A lot of music that his parents disapproved of was amazing. "Maybe if I have time one day, you can make recommendations."

[gotspeed]

"Just come to me and I'll tell you all the best ones. We can share. I got a load of them." Barry smiled in a friendly way and made no rush to leave Hartley's side. He was already late to class and he had to go find his pants and all so it looked like he was just going to have to skip. Maybe Hartley had a free period, it wasn't like him to be late for anything. "You got some free time now or are you scheduled to do stuff?" Barry bounced on the balls of his feet. "Want to go treasure hunting... for pants."

[mostlyajerk]

"I have to..." Actually he had time scheduled to go to the music room and practise and for him that was free time, that was the best time of the day. But Barry looked at him and Hartley's heart was beating very fast and it wasn't too surprising that he found himself nodding. "Sure, I have some time." He did not, he really did not, but it didn't matter at that moment. He wasn't thinking clearly. "Where do you want to start?"

[gotspeed]

"The toilets. Oh, this is fun, it's like a proper scavenger hunt." Barry teased as he headed down the hallway, kind of rocking the rolled up shorts look. Perhaps that was why he wasn't well liked, he was pretty handsome, he was hard to really get to and he kind of the sort who brushed it off and kept going. A lot of people were jealous, they didn't like his resistance to their cruelty. Barry was a strange little oddity in their world. "So, how has your day been so far?"

[mostlyajerk]

"Nothing unusual. You're the highlight of my day." Hartley said it easily enough and figured it gave nothing away. Hell, Barry didn't seem too aware, he could probably have straddled him without giving anything away. He thought for a moment about what it'd be like to actually hold hands with someone, then quickly pushed the thought back. His life wasn't made for things like that. Romance. Not the way he wanted it. "No one stole my pants, so that was good."

[gotspeed]

"I am? You're mine too. You freed me and you gave me pants. You're my hero today, Hart." Yes, he just decided last time they worked together than he was going to call him Hart, it was cute and no one seemed to give Hartley nicknames or fun things, his life sounded kind of boring but he tried not to judge. Hartley seemed ... well, not happy but content? Maybe. Barry smiled and shoved his hands into the pockets of Hartley's pants. "They were just messing with me. You know what the guys are like."

[mostlyajerk]

"They are jealous of you. You're better than them and you've actually worked for everything you have." Apart from the looks, he supposed, those were god-given. God giving to personally torment Hartley Rathaway, although that might be just a tad too selfish a way to look at it. "I don't understand their attitude. They should try harder themselves instead. Not that it's worth much, most of them are idiots. You're not an idiot."

[gotspeed]

"Oh yeah, this place is so weird to be in sometimes. You guys are just like so ritzy. When Doctor Wells said I should attend the science program here, I thought the education would be my struggle but it's way different." Instead of worrying about his school work, which he mostly kept on top of, he was worried about everything else. Money, scandals, offending the elites of societies children, looking presentable, avoiding drugs and mostly just trying to avoid becoming a charity case to those who were looking to be heroes. "I don't take it personally. This world is brutal, I guess they're just stressed out."

[mostlyajerk]

"You need to not show anything. You're so easy to read, so open, maybe that riles them up. But don't change. Life's just unfair to you right now, but once you're through this, you'll do amazing things." A lot more freedom than he'd have, as his path was rather set in stone, where his career and everything else was concerned. "I only get by without anyone bothering me because they're all scared of bad blood with my family. But I don't have friends. They only care about the connection. It's how it goes. I'm a Rathaway first, everything else third. Fourth, maybe." Or hidden entirely.

[gotspeed]

"You have friends. You have me. I like you because you're you, man, I don't even know what the Rathaway's do entirely. To me, you're a friend first." Barry smiled and impulsively, he put an arm around Hartley and gave him a half hug before sprinting ahead and pushing the door open. Well, there was his tie, in the sink. One item down. He held up the soaking wet tie proudly. "I found it!" He grinned at Hartley before turning to check the stalls for his pants. No sign so far.

[mostlyajerk]

"Congratulations," Hartley said drily. He felt like an ass, because he wanted to tell Barry that he didn't want to be his friend, he wanted to be more. Of course that could and should never happen, but it was a thought that made the idea of being just friends pale in comparison. Someone else he had to hide his true self and his true thoughts from. He wondered what it'd be like to kiss Barry's cheek. What was it like to be kissed by someone he was in love with? He knew that he should really never find out. "Those are not your pants." Seemed worth pointing out.

[gotspeed]

"Obviously but it's my tie. I know it's mine. I ripped the back when it got caught in the printer last month.." He showed Hartley the rip before opening the last stall and... ew. Great. Barry slowly put his hand into the toilet and pulled out his wet and potentially ruined trousers. Aww man. How was he ever going to afford another pair worthy of this schools insane standards. "Well. This sucks." Barry sighed and held them between his forefinger and thumb, looking over at Hartley with the best smile he could muster. "I really hope this is just toilet water... do you think these are salvageable? I already used up all my free spending money."

[mostlyajerk]

"...wash them and see what happens?" This was disgusting and probably the best way ever to get his head out of the clouds. What a way to make someone seem unattractive. Hartley stepped back, just in case, hoping Barry wasn't planning on coming anywhere near with those pants. "Maybe you can ask the school for a new uniform, they do have a fund for underprivileged students, as far as I know." Obviously not something he had ever had to make use of. "...you can keep my pants."

[gotspeed]

Barry sighed and just dropped them before they weren't worth saving. He supposed he could just ask Wells for the money, he was always good like that. Or Joe. Either one, they always helped him whenever he was in a bind. He knew he had to learn to be more independent but he just didn't have the money for that. He went over and made sure to wash his hands before he got any closer. He knew it was kind of ... gross. "They're just pants. I can always get more. Besides, I don't know about you, but I'm kind of rocking this look right now." Barry smiled that same old smile, not kept down for long as he sort of stood back and appreciated it. "It's gonna be chilly on the walk home but that's the price I pay for being cool."

[mostlyajerk]

"Oh yes. You are being extremely cool." Something perhaps best appreciated without the smell of toilet in the air as pronounced as it was right now. Hartley opened the door to try and escape that a little, leaning back against it. "I'm sorry the others treat you like this, Barry. But when you've finished school and if you ever need a project funded, please don't hesitate to come to me."

It was a big gesture from his point of view.

[gotspeed]

"I'll be okay, I don't really want to do the whole project stuff. I want to work for the police." Something everyone tended to look at him funny over, given the high end science program he was doing. All those skills and all that knowledge and he still wanted to be a CSI. He moved away from the toilets, his clothes abandoned in there as he took off back towards his locker. "Thanks though, it's really cool. You're been so good to me."

He turned his head to the side and smiled faintly. "I know I'm a bit of a loser but you're kind enough not to point it out. That's better than most."

[mostlyajerk]

"The police can probably use someone smart like you." Hartley smiled a little and shrugged his shoulders. He didn't really have that much room to talk, given-- "I wanted to be a musician for a while." Sometimes he daydreamed about it still, but in that far away style. Similar to how he thought about boys, he supposed. About love. It was something for other people. He had concrete goals to focus on, but sometimes a little dreaming on the side helped him keep going. "I don't think you're a loser, Barry."

[gotspeed]

"I've heard you play, you'd be an amazing musician. You should go for it. I heard you playing the flute while I was in the hall not long ago, it was amazing." He smiled at Hartley and bumped his shoulders against his, their hands briefly touching, almost holding. "Are you still free?" Given neither of them had class now but nothing got out until another hour, he was just wondering how much more of Hartley's time he could steal.

[mostlyajerk]

Hartley opened his mouth to tell Barry that he obviously could not be a musician for various reasons, but his mind reeled from the suddenly gained knowledge that Barry had heard him play and that he liked it. What was worse, Barry was suddenly so close. He had to get out of this. He had to get away from him quickly. "I have music practise scheduled, actually."

[gotspeed]

"You do? Can I come watch you?" Barry asked curiously because he really did like the way that Hartley played. It wasn't often he heard the flute these days. He tilted his head to the side and gave Hartley a frown... why did he look like he was having a melt down? His eye was almost twitching. "I don't have to! It'd just be cool. I can show you my skills. I can kind of play guitar and I sing."

[mostlyajerk]

"No, it's fine." He so wasn't ready to hear Barry sing or play anything, because whether he was good or bad, it would have effects he really didn't want. A distant, pleasant crush, was that really too much to ask for? Hartley couldn't think of a reason to tell him not to come, so here he was, stuck. "Of course you can come watch. It's not going to be very interesting, I just try to get some free time every day." Free time was practise time for him.