Browsing (MARCOH!)

[Zeke Nayakan]

Zeke was running out of reading material at his home, so he decided to head on over to the mall after school and get some new books. He was making decent money teaching karate, and so he didn't mind spending a few extra dollars on some stuff for himself.

He started reading the back binding of a book that caught his interest, but decided against it. He had some extra money, but that book was $30 dollars. That was a little bit too much for his taste... that's what the library was for.

[Marcoh Kinsley]

Marcoh was 15 pages into a sci-fi paperback he'd picked up when someone caught his eye.

Glancing to the side, he was startled when he discovered that Zeke Nayakan was only four shelves down for him, in plain sight. He felt a bit of butterflies and a grasshopper or two when he realized who it was, and tried to play it cool. Since the incident at school, Marcoh had been keeping his head up in the halls, trying to catch a glimpse of Zeke, but he never managed to see him. Finally, he'd gotten lucky.

Not sure if he should say something (or what to say, for that matter), Marcoh looked back down to his book, but was certainly side-tracked by the gorgeous Asian only a few feet away.

[Zeke Nayakan]

Zeke pretended he hadn't seen the way Marcoh had reacted when he saw him. The kid was cute, that was for sure, and if he'd been a Senior he would've pounced on him in a heartbeat. As it was, he'd done his research and discovered that Marcoh was a sophomore, which meant two years difference in age. Still... he was hot for a sophomore.

Zeke had never been a shy person, and so he walked up to the underclassman. "Hey there, what'cha reading?" Even if nothing else came of this conversation, perhaps he could make a new friend here.

[Marcoh Kinsley]

[wooooo! I felt all tingly when I read that! <33]

As surprised as Marcoh had been when he saw Zeke, that shock was nothing compared to the way he felt when he was approached by him.

"Hey there, what'cha reading?"

Marcoh struggled to appear pleasantly surprised to see Zeke when he looked up from the book in his hands, but the air of coolness he attempted to surround himself with completely dissipated when he gazed straight into those dark eyes. Instead, he would later describe himself appearing as having a 'deer in headlights' sort of look.

"Uh..." he began, realizing that he had to answer eventually and looking at the cover, "'The Listeners'."

Desperate to say something else, anything to keep the conversation going, he blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

"You like things? Ah, I mean, anything. Do you like anything. Here. In the store." Marcoh rambled, mentally kicking his own ass.

[Zeke Nayakan]

Zeke wondered why he always seemed to intimidate people. He knew that he sort of gave off an 'aura' of sorts, due to his extensive karate training, that he was sure of himself, but not in a cocky way... but even that wasn't a lot. When it came to underclassmen, though... they just seemed to lose it around him. He smiled to himself as Marcoh needed to look at the book cover again to see what he had been reading.

"Never heard of it. I'll have to check it out sometime," Zeke said. Then, in a desperate attempt to make conversation, Marcoh rambled on about something relating to 'liking things'.

"I do happen to enjoy things on occasion," he said, smiling again. He hoped that by being nonchalant it would help Marcoh to relax a little. He was hiding it pretty well in his actions, but it was obvious that he was nervous for some reason.

"Pertaining to this store, I also like things here. Many, many things... too many things to actually buy with the money I have," he added. "But I suppose one must learn to budget his money eventually. I like pretty much any genre, really, but while I'm here," he said, glancing at the Sci-Fi stuff and picking up Solaris. "I've been meaning to check this out... have you read it?"

((ooc- okay, so I looked up the book, didn't say much, I'm guessing it's sci-fi-ish. ^_^ If not, I'll change this.))

[Marcoh Kinsley]

Marcoh was surprised at his casual manner until he realized that perhaps Zeke had made more of an impression on him than he had on Zeke. Feeling a bit foolish about his completely spastic behavior, he looked away from Zeke and toward the book he had in his hands.

"Yeah, it's really good. It leaves a lot to be interpreted, which kind of makes it hard to understand, but the plot is really awesome and moves at a good pace, unlike the movies." Marcoh, said offering his honest opinion. Guys were one thing, books were another. Books didn't get him flustered.



[I looked it up on Amazon.. I hope we're talking about the same book. ^^;; )

[Zeke Nayakan]

((ooc- I do to! ^_^ I actually haven't read it, but Amazon said that if you liked 'The Listeners' then you'd like 'Solaris'. I didn't see the movie either. Hah!))

Zeke couldn't help but give a little chuckle as he witnessed a complete change in Marcoh's attitude. He went from being completely flustered and unable to form a complete sentence to speaking rather intelligently about books. So he'd found the kid's soft spot; he was a real reader. Good.

"Well then, based on that outstanding review, I do believe I'll have to add this to my list of purchases today," he said, tucking it under his arm as he stood there. "I don't think we had the opportunity to be properly introduced. Our first meeting was a little... unconventional. Unless, of course, you hide out in closets on a regular basis," Zeke said, meaning it literally and not figuratively. "I'm Zeke Nayakan, Senior, and public enemy number one of the Evans brothers. At your service."

[Marcoh Kinsley]

"I don't think we had the opportunity to be properly introduced. Our first meeting was a little... unconventional. Unless, of course, you hide out in closets on a regular basis. I'm Zeke Nayakan, Senior, and public enemy number one of the Evans brothers. At your service."

He took a moment to laugh mentally at the closet comment. If only he knew... or maybe that'd be bad.

"Er, I'm Marcoh Kinsley. Sophmore. And, er, public enemy of... well, nothing." Marcoh replied lamely, confidence slowly deteriorating. God, Zeke was so hot. He had a hard time thinking rationally when he was talking to him, which probably explained why he had the courage to say what he said next.

"I have Solaris, I mean, if you want to borrow it sometime." Marcoh blurted, blushing slightly when he realized what he said. Borrowing the book would mean future conversations with Zeke, which was both intimidating and exciting at the same time. Hopefully he didn't think he was being clingy. Oh jesus, being gay was agony.

[Zeke Nayakan]

Zeke noticed that Marcoh seemed less comfortable talking about himself, but he couldn't talk about books all the time. He decided that this kid needed to have some more conversations in his life.

"Well, I think I'd rather not be the public enemy of anyone. I mean, sure, I'm glad I stopped anybody from getting hurt, but I really dislike resorting to violence. The trouble is, the Evans brothers can't comprehend too many words at one time or else they'll explode."

So, he was a sophomore. Well, that wasn't too bad. That only meant, what, that there was a two year age difference between them? That wasn't terrible... it could be worse. He knew Seniors who were dating freshmen, after all. It was then that Marcoh offered to let him borrow his own copy of Solaris. He raised an eyebrow at the boy, and grinned.

"Sure," he said in a casual tone, placing the copy he'd been about to buy back on the shelf in its proper place. "Thanks. Beats the hell out of buying it." Zeke looked around. "Though, I don't really remember seeing you around anywhere to meet up with you... do you hang out anywhere in particular in the mornings?"

[Marcoh Kinsley]

"Well, I think I'd rather not be the public enemy of anyone. I mean, sure, I'm glad I stopped anybody from getting hurt, but I really dislike resorting to violence. The trouble is, the Evans brothers can't comprehend too many words at one time or else they'll explode."

Marcoh laughed at that, but was really charmed by the fact that while he was tough, he didn't want to kick ass all the time. This guy was unbelievable (in the best way EVER).

"Though, I don't really remember seeing you around anywhere to meet up with you... do you hang out anywhere in particular in the mornings?"

Marcoh blushed at the question. He made it sound like he was looking for him, and while it wasn't true, Marcoh liked to think it was.

"No, not really. Just homeroom. Or the library, in the computer area." he replied, listing off the places he could usually be found. Occasionally he stopped in the TV Studio, but Zeke didn't need to listen to an extensive list. It was just a book, after all.

[Zeke Nayakan]

Zeke nodded. "Library, eh? I'm there every now and then, so I'm sure I'll see you there sometime." Come to think of it, the library would probably have the book there, but this gave him an excuse to hang around with Marcoh a little more. He seemed like a cool person, once he let his guard down a little and stopped being so nervous. Just the same, he liked him even more when he was nervous. It was cute. "I'll probably stop by to check some stuff out tomorrow anyway... I'll need something to do in ISS all day."

[Marcoh Kinsley]

Marcoh grimaced when Zeke mentioned his upcoming stay in ISS.

"I'm sorry you got in trouble. I mean... well, I was involved too and I got off scot free. I know you were just trying to help me and Jude."

His voice was tender, as he still felt bad for what had happened. Marcoh hoped Zeke realized how much he appreciated what he did.

[Zeke Nayakan]

Zeke hadn't meant to make Marcoh feel bad about what had happened, he had just been making conversation.

"Ah, no, it's cool. This isn't the first time this has happened, so don't sweat it. The ISS teacher knows me, we're cool, and Principal Clark knows I was only helping, so she doesn't even hold it against me." Zeke shrugged. "Small price to pay to see the Evans brothers get suspended yet again... and you can't even imagine how much being beat up by 'the gay kid' gets under their skin."

Zeke wasn't sure if Marcoh knew he was gay. He didn't see how he couldn't, since everyone else knew, but it wasn't like he showed any of the typical 'signs' of being homosexual. He didn't dress all that differently, and he didn't slur any of his words in that 'gay lisp' that's so popular on TV.

"After all, you hadn't done anything, so why should you have been punished. You were just in the wrong place at the wrong time." Zeke didn't want Marcoh to feel bad at all... he'd nearly been beaten to death, after all, and Zeke would've hated to see his nice face all bruised and broken.

[Marcoh Kinsley]

... and you can't even imagine how much being beat up by 'the gay kid' gets under their skin."

Marcoh had been listening intently until that last statement. That's when his attention was completely lost and his jaw literally dropped.

"He's gay. He's gay. Oh my sweet jesus, he's gay." was all he could think. Sure, Marcoh had heard rumors about various kids being gay, but it mostly just talk. After all, everything nowadays was gay ("Oh my god, that test was soooo gay. That teacher is soooo gay. My parents are soooo gay."). Zeke, well, he hadn't been expecting to be gay, mostly because Marcoh had such a big crush on him.

This certainly changed a lot of things and made Marcoh all the less confident. After all, he technically, logically had a chance with him, despite the fact that Zeke was gorgeous and most likely interested in older guys. If he didn't know what to say before, he couldn't even begin to formulate words now.

[Zeke Nayakan]

As soon as Zeke had mentioned the fact that he was gay, Marcoh was in a whole other world. He could only imagine what was going through the sophomore's mind as he sat there. Zeke felt a little bit uncomfortable in the sudden silence that followed, and shifted his weight from his right foot to his left foot as he thought of something to say that wouldn't embarass Marcoh but would still get his attention.

"Hey, Marcoh... you still with me here?" he asked, cocking his head to the side a little as he smiled a sideways grin. "Does this mean I won't be getting my book?" he asked slyly.

Zeke couldn't tell if his being gay as a good or a bad thing. He got a sort of gay vibe from Marcoh, but couldn't be too sure. Perhaps he was a homophobe... many younger students were. Either way, this was the most interesting conversation he'd held in a long while.

[Marcoh Kinsley]

"Hey, Marcoh... you still with me here? Does this mean I won't be getting my book?"

The initial shock had worn off enough for Marcoh to catch what Zeke had said, and he suddenly became wide-eyed.

"No, of course! I'm sorry, I just assumed, well, you just... I dunno, seem like you'd be really popular with the girls. Not that you aren't-! Just, that, you... oh jesus." Marcoh blurted, realizing he was digging himself a deeper and deeper grave. Good god, he was such a spaz. He just didn't want Zeke to think he was a homophobe when he was pretty much the exact opposite.

The problem was... how did he let Zeke know that he was gay without telling him? He was still unsure of the whole thing himself, so it was kind of hard to strut around and proclaim his sexuality. Of course, he was completely crushing on Zeke, but he was still afraid of what the consequences would be if he revealed who he truly was. He'd heard about so many bad things happening to gays and Marcoh couldn't possibly protect himself from verbal or physical abuse.

And he knew people like Zeke wouldn't always be around. Well, he hoped so, but that was a different story altogether.

[Zeke Nayakan]

Ah, the deer in headlights look. Zeke found himself watching Marcoh trip over every little word he said. This really was amusing. Not that he got pleasure out of Marcoh's obvious embarassment, but just the whole situation was quite odd.

"It's cool, I get that all the time. I'm not really the 'gay' type, apparently. I just figured most of the school knew, but I guess I inflated my own reputation in my head a little." Zeke laughed. "Sorry if that threw you off a little there. I guess I've never really been the shy, candid type of person."

Zeke decided to let Marcoh recover from that little shocker and gather his thoughts. He wondered if he could teach Marcoh to be a little more confident... or if he hung out with him a little perhaps some of his own confidence would rub off on him. He just seemed so unsure of everything that he did... how could he live like that?

"And, just for the record, I'm popular with the girls as well. It's just a little bit of a letdown for them once they find out, is all." Zeke said this jokingly, hoping to break some of the tension and soften the mood.

[Marcoh Kinsley]

"Uh, yeah." Marcoh said, trying to generally reply to what Zeke had said with a fried brain. Just when things were actually going smoothly...

He wasn't really sure what to say next to try and make up for the lack in conversational place, but he found himself entirely too curious about the fact that Zeke was gay. He was just so confident and casual and gorgeous - how did he do it?

[Zeke Nayakan]

And then there was the silence again. Zeke was beginning to feel like he was holding a conversation with himself at this point in time. Still, he didn't want to scare away Marcoh. He felt like he'd been making some sort of headway until he mentioned the fact that he was gay.

"So, what's going on inside of that head of yours?" he asked, hoping to coax Marcoh back out of his shell.

[Marcoh Kinsley]

"Nothing, really." Marcoh said instinctively, giving him an answer he usually gave his parents. Then again, with his parents, he was usually thinking about something sex related (he's shy and awkward, but he's still a guy) and this was an entirely different scenario. Deciding that he was probably going to bore Zeke to death if he didn't say something, Marcoh opted to offer him a little bit of himself... in a metaphorical sense.

"...how do you accept it so easily?" Marcoh asked quietly, as if the Evans brothers were right there and ready to pounce at his question. Glancing into Zeke's eyes, he quickly looked toward the floor, unable to maintain eye contact with him.

[Zeke Nayakan]

Zeke thought that he'd lost the underclassman as he replied with 'nothing, really'. He was about ready to suggest that it was time he should get back home, there were tests to study for and books to read, but then Marcoh glanced up at him and made eye contact. It was then that he asked, 'how do you accept it so easily?' There was something in his eyes, a sense of fear, that told Zeke immediately that he had been right in his suspicions; Marcoh was gay, he was 99% sure of it. And he was afraid of being that way, because of people like the Evans brothers.

"Because it's who I am," Zeke said, as though this was the simplest thing in the world. "I can't change who I am to please others, so I've grown to accept it and embrace it. Yes, I'm a homosexual, but that doesn't make me any less of a person." This was starting to sound like a prepared speech because he'd had to explain this to so many people in his past. He knew that Marcoh needed something more than a speech, though, and he wanted to help him out if he could. "It wasn't easy at first... I can safely say I've gotten the shit beat out of me on several occasions... before the whole blackbelt thing, anyway," he added, being honest. Learning how to fight had helped him a lot. "I just had to realize that I wasn't like everybody else, but that it wasn't anything I could help. Make the best of the situation. I realized that I was happier being myself than hiding behind forced comments on how hot the latest Britney Spears was."

He was shocked at how serious the conversation had turned, especially since he barely knew Marcoh, but he had been the one who had asked. Zeke just hoped he'd said the right thing. Marcoh was an alright guy, even if he didn't know it yet.

[Marcoh Kinsley]

Marcoh kept his gaze steady on a stack of Artemis Fowl hardcovers until halfway through Zeke's small speech when he began to find himself capable of looking up at him. It was a collection of inspiring thoughts that Marcoh had already gone through in his own mind, but hearing them aloud didn't hurt, especially coming from a guy who was slowly becoming an his idol.

When Zeke finished, Marcoh looked up at him and gave a spent smile, still a bit amazed that he could talk about it so openly. They were in the middle of a bookstore after all.

"I see." was all he could say in response to something like that.

[Zeke Nayakan]

Zeke decided that, instead of any more incoherent ramblings, this would be the perfect spot to leave off for the night. Give Marcoh something to think about on his own. After all, it was a lot to think about, even though Zeke had the idea that it wasn't the first time the thoughts had occured to the younger boy.

"Yeah, well, that's about the extent of my wisdom for the night. Any more and I'd have to charge you," he added, smiling back at Marcoh. "Listen, I've got to go... it's my turn to cook dinner at home. But I'll see you in the library tomorrow, right?" Zeke knew that he wanted to talk with Marcoh again... he was starting to think that he could help him realize his full potential, instead of the way he limited himself with his shyness. It could be fun. But here, in the middle of the bookstore, was not the place. Zeke knew he was okay with his homosexuality, but if Marcoh was gay then it was obvious he wasn't very secure about it.