How Green Becomes Wood

"Does it stop them, though? Or do they just wait until they are healed up and come back again? I am not going to tell you lies about how you should just be the bigger person and not let it get to you and not show them that it bothers you, because I know it is not that easy," He looked Xander dead in the eye and repeated, "I know," then after taking a beat continued, "But at some point, if you keep going on like this, you will pick a fight you will not walk away from with only some bruises and a busted lip. You might not walk away at all. Words cut deeper and hurt longer than old sayings give them credit for but... Five guys, Xander, Jesus, you are lucky you are not more beat up than you are."

Dark sighed, and looking at the teenager now at last understood how the people in his life when he was this age must have felt. Cooger was getting into fights right there with him, but Daizi was always distraught over it, and he could suddenly remember, vividly, the disappointment and concern felt by his guidance counselor, and his therapist, and the few teachers he actually could stand... And seeing it from their perspective, he could see why the acted the way they had. But he knew there wouldn't, and couldn't, be a sudden change in Xander where he saw instantaneously how self-destructive he was being, so instead, Dark stood up and said, "You stay there, I am going to go and talk to Bernice. She will still end up punishing you, but I am certain I can convince her to not expel you, and that is enough for now, okay?"
 
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Five teen boys was nothing compared to one drunk adult man. Xander knew full well that Dark was right about picking a fight he couldn't walk away from, but right now, he really didn't see any alternatives. What else was he supposed to do? Playing possum didn't always work, nor did selective hearing, and more than anything, people shouldn't be allowed to get away with talking like that! It wasn't fair. Not much in life was, but this, at least, he could do something about, no matter how little that something was. It might be stupid and tunnel-visioned, but it was all he knew. No one had yet offered him any kind of an answer that actually worked. Mostly, they just told him to be the bigger man and all that jazz. At least Dark didn't insult him that way. Dark did seem to understand, to really understand, but still Xander didn't have any answers. Just a roiling pain in every part of his body and a stomach from frustration and anger and something else he didn't know what to call.

"I'll be here," he mumbled, closing his eyes. He was tired. So frikkin tired. Maybe instead of expulsion, he could get suspended for a few days. That wouldn't be so bad. He could use a week's worth of sleep.
 
"Okay," Dark said. His hand sort of twitched by his side--he wanted to lightly squeeze Xander's shoulder or rub his back, but he refrained, because he had already learned Xander did not like to be touched, so he would not find it comforting. So instead, he took a moment, before he left to speak to the principal, to squat down in front of him, so for once Xander didn't need to look up at him. For once Xander was larger than he was. It was difficult, because he really did understand how Xander felt, or at least he believed that he did, but trying to prove that meant going through his own trauma. It meant going through his own memories he would rather not face. He looked up at the teen and said, "It is not fair what you have had to go through. I hope you know you deserve so much more than this life has given you."

Then, once more, he rose to his full height, and left the room. Outside of the office, he told Bernice Xander's side of the story and argued that in the weeks he had been fostering him, the teen had gotten into far less trouble than he had in the entire first semester, "Out of all of the kids involved in the incident today," he said, "he is the only one coming from a difficult living situation. You need to take that into account, he doing better, he is actively trying to do better. If you expel him now, the only thing you will teach him is the effort he has been making does not matter." She didn't like it, and she really wanted to tell him he was wrong, but ultimately, she couldn't.

So Dark came back into the office where Xander was waiting and said, "I spoke with her, and she agreed not to expel you, but she has given you one week's suspension. I cannot leave here, because I still have work, and obviously Daizi cannot come and get you, so Cooger is going to come and take you home. I figured that was preferable than sitting in this office for the rest of the day."
 
"...you deserve so much more than this life has given you."

Xander sat frozen as Dark left the room. No one had ever said that to him. No one had ever told him he deserved anything other than what he had. A few people had mumbled things like how no one's life was fair, how he could work to overcome his background, things like that, but when they'd looked down at him, he'd never seen much hope. They all thought he could do better in life, but they didn't think he would. He was a lost cause, already signed, sealed, and delivered to the prison gates. He was a teen boy from a rough background who didn't show any talent for anything other than getting into fights and somehow making it out alive. No one thought he had anything going for him.

Dark looked him in the eye and told him he deserved more. No reasons, no explanations, no pointing out attributes, just him. He deserved more. And Dark believed that. He wasn't just saying words, he believed it. Suddenly, as Dark stepped out of the room, tears sprang into Xander's eyes, burning and threatening to spill out. Angrily, Xander rubbed them away with the heel of his hand. Men didn't cry! No weakness! But inside, something delicate wobbled and whimpered like a child seeking a hug. He shook his head briefly, aggravating a slight headache, and shoved the feeling down.

By the time Dark returned, he'd gotten a hold of himself. "Cooper?" he repeated doubtfully. "Alright, but I'm not going to skin any coon hats." He stood and reached for his books. "What about Alec? He'll worry if no one tells him. I'm supposed to be in class with him right now."
 
"Cooger," Dark corrected, "with a G, like the cat. It is his surname, he believes his first name is too preppy. And I'll make sure Alec knows. I am sure he has already heard about the fight, but I will make sure the rest of the information is passed on." That was not bound to be a fun conversation, but there was nothing for it.

He glanced at the door, and knew Bernice was just longing for him to get gone, and he also knew he had his own class to go teach. Dark rubbed the back of his neck and said, "Alright. I will see you at home, okay? Torture Cooger all you want, I am sure he did something to deserve it." He lingered a few minutes longer, in case Xander wanted to say something, and then he left.

It only took Cooger about twenty minutes to show up at the school for Xander, in his textbook uniform of ripped, paint and grass stained jeans, an unbuttoned flannel, and some t-shirt with heavy workboots. Sure, they had only met a handful of times, but it certainly seemed like he only had one type of outfit. He would've slapped Xander on the back like he literally always did when he greeted him, but he knew the kid had just been in a brawl, so he refrained, "Well hey, there's the Gladiator," he said cheerfully, "you look like shit, dude. Ready to get out of here?"
 
"You don't look much better," Xander mumbled through puffy lips. The cuts had made them swell a bit. "Did you get into a fight with a lawnmower?" He stood stiffly, completely ignoring the principal as he followed Cooger out. He did glance back once. Despite his tumultuous history, this was only his second time getting suspended. It was a weird feeling. He just hoped someone would look after Alec.
 
"Hey I work hard, what's your excuse?" He laughed, he loved kids with a mouth on 'em. He didn't need to watch what he said around them. "Wanna get ice cream or something? Isn't that what kids get when they go home early? Dark said I'm s'pposed to take you straight home, but what he don't know won't hurt 'im, right?" He brought Xander out to his perpetually moody truck and hopped in.

Meanwhile, after Dark's class let out, he sought out Alec in the hallway and said, "Hey, we need to talk. Everything is okay."
 
"Ice cream? In winter? That's like drinking hot chocolate in the middle of summer," Xander pointed out. He claimed up into the truck and pulled on his seatbelt. "Why not? Let's do it. Where do you go for ice cream?"

~~

Alec clung tightly to his bookbag and looked up at Dark worriedly. "Is Xander in trouble?" he asked. He already knew the answer, but he wanted to hear Dark's explanation.
 
"There's this really great place that I know, they give you so many toppings, and also I get free ice cream for life there 'cause I fixed their freezer and said I'd do it for free," He pulled out of the school parking lot and took a quick glance at Xander, although he did so safely, "Don't go to college, kiddo. Dark went, and he works at that dump, I dropped out and now I get free ice cream for life 'cause I decided to just be an all-purpose handyman. No debt, no boss, no worries."

~~

"Yes," Dark replied, "but, it is okay, he got into a fight, and he will be totally fine. However... he was suspended for one week." He was trying to play it cool, so Alec wouldn't freak out too badly, but since a suspension is still serious, it was difficult.
 
Xander couldn't help a brief snort of laughter. "Now there's some advice I've never gotten before. Most people just wonder if I can possibly get into college at all." He looked out the window, watching the buildings go by. "I don't know what the point of me going to college is, anyway. I have no skills, no plans, no passions. I'm not spending a hundred thousand on something I'm not even sure about. Seems a complete waste."

~~

Alec twisted the strap of his bag nervously, seeming to shrink down in his puffy red coat. "He'll be gone for a week? That's no good at all," he mumbled anxiously. "I hope he'll be okay. He has to be okay, right? Yes, yes, he'll be absolutely fine." The bell rang, making him jump. "I need to go to class, sir." He turned and started to hurry down the hall.

In truth, while it was selfish, it wasn't exactly Xander Alec was worried about. Suspension was serious, and it would be annoying for him to try to catch up on missed schoolwork, but at least now he was safely away from the bullies. Unlike Alec.
 
"Right on," Cooger nodded, "See, my parents were both lawyers, before they retired. And not your boring family law attorneys, Dad was a defense attorney who took on, ya know, the big cases, and Ma sold her soul in the corporate world. Not me, I said hell no, and when I was offered a full wrestling scholarship I turned it down and went on a cross-country road trip. You ever see the stars over the New Mexico desert? Like you wouldn't believe." He pulled into the ice cream shop parking lot and turned off his truck, getting out with the classic dad-grunt, even though he was not a father, nor would he be one.

~~

"He is okay, I promise," Dark replied, "Are you okay, Alec?" But he was already hurrying away. Which, seemed to suggest no, he was not okay, but they could talk more about it at home, he supposed. He needed to get to his own class, anyway, he could not stand hearing another student whine about if the teacher isn't here in 15 minutes, we are legally allowed to leave, and he also really had no desire to hear Bernice get on his case for not being in his classroom when he was supposed to be. So they would talk later.
 
Xander hopped out of the truck and winced. He was getting too old for fistfights! "So, you traded rules, regulations, and a steady paycheck for freedom, self-reliance, and insecurity since you have no idea if you're going to have enough money to feed yourself or pay the mortgage," he pointed out to Cooger as he followed him inside. "Is that when you decided to give yourself the name of a big cat?"

~~

Alec found his class and went to his seat, sliding in and keeping his head down. The seat next to him remained conspicuously empty. As close slowly started, the other students started to notice that one of the two redheads was missing, the violent one. That just left the quiet one who never fought back, never spoke up, and never complained. Eventually, one of the other boys slid into the seat and gave Alec a huge grin. Alec took a deep breath and smiled back, projecting a calm he didn't feel. It was going to be a long day.
 
"Do you know what I've learned?" Cooger asked, walking ahead of Xander, "Shit breaks. People always need repairs. And I've learned how to fix just about everything except electronics. I can't fix your TV, but dishwashers? Ovens? Cars? Sure, I can take a look, and if I can't, I'll send you over to someone as a referral and still get a percentage. So, the way I see it, I ain't rich by any means, but I'll always be able to make twenty bucks when I need it. And for what it's worth, I ain't got a mortgage, 'cause I bought the land, and Cooger's a family name." He winked, and when he walked into the ice cream shoppe, the people behind the counter greeted him by name.

~~

Dark expected to hear comments floating around the school about Xander and his massive hallway fight. He also, knowing the context of the fight, knew it meant he would be hearing comments about himself. And, since Xander was a twin, he expected to hear comments about Alec.

What he did not anticipate was hearing a student say, "Yeah, so like, from what I heard, Mr. Dark and his wife, who I guess is, like, a pagan slave or something, like to have orgies with the parents of the students here, and like, he's probably Logan's dad, and who knows how many other people's."

So. That was going to be fun to deal with. He should probably talk to Xander about the origin of that particular theory.
 
Xander didn't say anything as they got their ice cream. He voted for chocolate chips in vanilla, nothing too crazy, and sat with Cooger, trying to decide if he liked this or not. The ice cream did make him feel a little better. Cooger made him feel on edge, but nearly everyone made him on edge, so he was used to that. Cooger confused him. He seemed so confident and relaxed, but he was such a bear of a man that it seemed for certain he should be aggressive, a go-getter, anything but what he actually was. It didn't seem possible to live in a city and actually have that kind of a lifestyle. Cooger and Dark being friends seemed strange. Cooger and Daizi seemed a better match in his inexperienced eyes. He found himself watching Cooger, looking for the holes in his personality, trying to see what he was hiding.
 
Cooger ordered a large bowl of chocolate icecream, with caramel sauce and cheesecake bits. He sat across from the teen at the little table, one leg loosely slung over the others. He, evidently, did not care about how much physical space he occupied.

This was not his ideal plan for the day, but it didn't matter. This wasn't Dark or Daizi's plan, but they were in it now, and that was good enough, "Ya know," he said, "Dark and I, we're like brothers, I know it might not seem like it. When we met, he didn't have family, and I always wanted a brother, so I basically just adopted the guy. Someone needed teach him how t'live, right?"

If he noticed the way Xander was looking at him, he didn't react, and he also didn't spend much time looking at him back. Cooger didn't avoid looking at Xander, it wasn't like he wasn't noticing him, he just wasn't making a big deal of it, "So, you and your brother, you like it there? You like it with them? Tarot hasn't tried to yoink your soul right outta your body yet, right? She's sneaky, she'll do it quick, she's got mine, ya know. Like taking a baby's nose," He spoke with no derision. If anything, when he mentioned Daizi 'stealing his soul,' he made it sound positive, "Has Dark added y'all to his carnival yet?"
 
That was a lot of questions to answer all at once. Xander finished off his ice cream so fast he ended up with a brain freeze. He winced and pulled a face until it loosened its hold. "The professor seems to trust you," he said slowly, "so I guess the sentiment is returned. Far as I can tell, she hasn't stole my soul yet. Probably because I haven't got one. I don't know much about the carnival, but I doubt we're in it yet. I'm guessing you're the lion tamer?"
 
"Oh, no soul, you sound like Dark," Cooger laughed, slapping the table, "Always used to claim he had no soul, or that his soul was black, or corrupted, or whatever. I dunno, maybe he was right. Tarot has all sorts of thoughts on it, if you really get her talking. She says my folks are both new souls, and I've been around a few times, but she and Dark date all the way back to the advent of civilization, and that soulmates exist but not everyone's got one, and the absence of a soul is farcical and you're actually just detatched from yours and you gotta find it," He waved his big hand and shrugged, "To be honest with you, I don't believe a word of it, I barely understand it, and reincarnation sounds exhausting. I can't wait to just be dirt. But I love that woman--not like that--and she's the only one who actually believes me when I say I saw a UFO when I was on that road trip. You believe in aliens, son?"

He finished his icecream and called out a thanks to the people behind the counter, "We better be hitting the road, I guess. And I ain't the Lion Tamer, I'm the Strong Man," He flexed, "He started working on the thing about twenty years ago, if you can believe that. When they lived in an apartment, basically all surfaces were covered in little tents and freaks and carousel horses. And you still haven't said if you like it there."
 
"Nope, but UFO just means Un-Identified Object, so I don't doubt you saw something," Xander said, following him. He eyed Cooper, trying to imagine him as a real strong man in a circus. From what he'd seen on TV, it suited him.

Did he like it there? Did it matter? Probably, but he wasn't actually sure how to answer that. "It's better than being on the street, and it's a sight better than living with our mom," Xander said. He went quiet a moment. "Not that I wanted her dead, no matter what the others say."
 
"That's pretty small minded, Gladiator. It's a big universe out there, it's wild to think this is the only planet that managed to evolve life. Don't gotta believe they've been here." Cooger replied, leading the teen back out to his truck. He was, perhaps, less elegant than his friends who would, perhaps, have quoted Hamlet, but ultimately the message was the same.

He listened to Xander explain how he felt about staying at the Wahid-Dark household, and was about to say 'right on,' when suddenly the kid suddenly got a bit emotional, talking about his dead mom and stuff. Cooger didn't know what he was supposed to do with that, so he sort of cleared his throat and said, "I'm sure you didn't, uh... You know... what they say about assumptions, they, uh, make an ass outta 'u' and 'me,' so, people who assume those sorts of..." He scratched the back of his head, "I gotta tell you, kid, I'm not real great at the soft stuff."
 
Xander didn't know what the size of the universe had to do with the possibility of aliens. Statistics and chance didn't really work like that, and life was such a finicky, delicate thing that he wasn't sure he believed in the standard evolutionary methods. He wouldn't go so far as to say he believed in a god, either, he wasn't sure what he believed, but he supposed if there was some kind of creator/architect type person, they could just as well make more than one planet with life on it. Who knew? Not him, and just this world was hard enough to deal with by itself. Why did he want to bother himself with more than one?

At the sight of Cooger squirming uncomfortably, Xander almost - almost! - smirked, but he refrained himself. "Don't worry. I don't want to talk about it. Just slipped out. It doesn't bother me." He reached out and gently thumped the dashboard of the truck. "How do you learn how to fix junk like this so it ain't junk anymore?"
 
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