C'est la point? (Zeke?)

[Marcoh Kinsley]

Immediately after Zeke had left Borders, Marcoh had slumped into one of the leather chairs and buried his burning face in his hands, just wanting to scream in frustration. Not only had he made an ass of himself, he ruined any sort of relationship - friendly or otherwise - they might've had. Zeke probably thought he was such a jerk, which caused him to wonder what the point really was...

... of actually showing up in the library the next day, his worn copy of Solaris sitting atop his abnormally large stack of textbooks. He was sitting in front of a blank monitor, staring at the Windows logo with a furrowed brow.

Zeke said he'd come, but Marcoh really wondered if he would. Sure, he was a nice guy, amazing as a matter of fact, but after Marcoh's little spazfest, he couldn't possiblybe expecting him to show up. After all, it'd happened before. Plenty of times he'd been asked to tutor someone, only to find himself alone in the library after school with a stack of study guides, entirely forgotten. Not on purpose, but just because he didn't matter.

Flushing at this thought, Marcoh took a breath and tried to calm himself down. Why did he always have to get so worked up over the things that weren't that important? Most guys were completely insensitive to stuff like that. It was like he absorbed all the emotions every guy rejected.

So, like a big sponge of feelings, Marcoh sat and wallowed in all the memories and emotions he'd soaked up.

[wow, that's emo. they'd better make out, otherwise Marcoh might just kill himself. ^^;;;;]

[Zeke Nayakan]

Zeke entered the library, having left all of his books in his first period class. He hated carrying around more than he needed to, and his teacher didn't mind that his books sat there for a few extra minutes. He scanned the actual tables in the library, and didn't see Marcoh. He found himself worrying that he'd scared the boy away with their chat the night before. He was just being honest!

Then, by the computers, he saw him. He didn't look to well, either. Again, was that his doing? Had he broken Marcoh's spirit when he was just trying to help? He had that damn intimidating factor about him that, try as he might, just wouldn't go away.

"Hey there, Marcoh. Are you okay?" he asked, cocking an eyebrow. Then he noticed the stack of books that were sitting next to the computer screen. "Woah... how many classes do you have? You know, they give us lockers for just this sort of thing." Zeke smiled at him, taking the empty seat at the computer next to Marcoh before turning the seat to face his new acquaintence.

[Marcoh Kinsley]

Marcoh had been busy reprimanding himself that he nearly jumped off the chair when Zeke spoke. Looking up, he blushed and glanced away quickly, unable to face him directly. His mind was so completely blown; Zeke actually came. While his heart took it as a sign of affection and did a merry little dance at the gesture, his mind was smart enough not to go completely gaga. After all, he was just lending him a book. That's all Zeke wanted. The book.

"Mm." Marcoh hummed to generally answer all of Zeke's comments and inquiries. A part of him was swooning, amazed by how thoughtful he was, to be concerned about him. And that other part of him... well, was desperately trying to. But Marcoh had to stay focused.

"Here, I brought it. Sorry it's dog-eared - I read it a lot. And that sticky stuff on the binding is just a little glue from a science project, not anything gross." he said quietly, handing Zeke the paperback.

[Zeke Nayakan]

"Didn't mean to sneak up on you," Zeke said as he watched Marcoh practically jump up out of his seat at the sound of his voice. The more time he spent around him the more he liked all of the younger boy's little quirks. He was used to hanging around with people in his grade, so knowing someone younger (other than his little brother).

When the only response Marcoh said was "mm", Zeke began to worry if perhaps he had forgotten how to speak... again. He was very reassured when he brought out the book and started speaking in complete sentences. That was a step up from last night, at least. Zeke gave a smart grin as he thought that, and took the book from him.

"Thanks..." he said, leafing through a few pages before placing the book on the desk next to him. "Those are tons of dog-ears... I hope this book lives up to the expectations you've given it!" he joked. He made a mental note that Marcoh jumped right to the book and ignored his other question.

"So what classes do you have?" he asked curiously, glancing at the stack of books. "You must have the strongest arms in the school... some kids can't bench as much weight as you carry around here!" Zeke wanted to say anything in order to avoid that awkward silence that had come over them at the mall.

[Marcoh Kinsley]

Marcoh couldn't help but smile at Zeke's comment, but he tried to suppress it. God he was so amazing. It was extremely difficult not to fall all over himself when the guy was being as nice as he was.

"Just... I dunno, some AP courses. Nothing really." he replied, cracking his knuckles one by one. It was sort of a habit he picked up and did frequently, especially in boring or nervous situations. Occasionally when he was just trying to find a distraction.

This was one of those times.

[Zeke Nayakan]

"You know, it won't kill you to smile and loosen up," Zeke commented, noticing how Marcoh tried to hide whatever it was he was thinking at the time. He seemed almost embarassed to smile, like it was a crime or something. "You've got dimples!" he added, laughing, as though this was reason enough to smile. Dimples were rather attractive...

And here came the part where Marcoh closed up again. It was a simple question, what classes was he taking? And the response? 'I dunno'. Zeke decided to talk instead, keeping the conversation going. "Really? That's pretty cool. And you're only in, what, tenth grade? Eleventh?" This was Zeke's sneaky way of learning more about Marcoh without coming right out and asking him. "I'm in a few AP classes myself. Lang, Chem, Government, and accelerated calculus."

((ooc- okay, I made up the dimple thing... if you don't want him to have dimples, I'll take it out, but I just thought it'd add to his adorable-ness))

[Marcoh Kinsley]

"You know, it won't kill you to smile and loosen up. You've got dimples!"[/i]

Marcoh smiled once again, sheepishly so, and began to bite his thumbnail anxiously. This really was torture. Maybe if Zeke had ignored him he wouldn't feel so crazy, but now he was saying all these kind things and being so completely charming.

"Please Zeke... don't let me hope like this." he pleaded mentally.

"Really? That's pretty cool. And you're only in, what, tenth grade? Eleventh? I'm in a few AP classes myself. Lang, Chem, Government, and accelerated calculus."

Marcoh jumped up abruptly. "Can we just make out already?"

[...just kidding... or am I?]

This wasn't just torture. It was agony.

[Zeke Nayakan]

Zeke got a smile out of Marcoh, but that was it. Other than that, he seemed completely unresponsive. It was almost like he could retreat into a shell and completely ignore the things going on around him. It was quite astounding. How could one person be so quiet?

"Well," Zeke said, running out of conversation topics (not that it mattered, since he was practically talking to himself at this point). "Thanks for the book... I guess I should get up to 'class'." Zeke put air quotes over the word class. "Being late for ISS would suck..."

[Marcoh Kinsley]

Aha. There it was, the retreat that Marcoh had been expecting. And though logically Zeke really had to leave, a part of his mind insisted that this was the last time he'd talk to him again. His heart settled back in a normal, almost disappointed pulse and he began to pick at a nail he'd bit to the point of slight bleeding.

"It was nothing, really. I hope ISS isn't too bad for you." Marcoh replied, looking up for the briefest of moments - for acknowledging purposes - and giving a half-smile.

[Zeke Nayakan]

"Well, thanks just the same. And I've dealt with ISS before, it'll be fine. I actually get more work done on my own without having to wait for the teacher to explain it to all the kids who aren't paying attention," he added, returning Marcoh's brief half-smile with a slightly broader smile of his own.

Zeke figured that maybe, if Marcoh realized that he had to be more assertive in order for people to want to spend extended amounts of time with him, that he might actually become more assertive. He had to learn that on his own, though, because Zeke didn't want to tell him how to live his life.

He'd wait a while, then try again. After all, if you wanted something, you had to go for it.