How Green Becomes Wood

"Alright," She said, sticking her hands in her pocket, not really ready to forgive him. She would by tomorrow, she was sure, but a rough couple of days didn't excuse calling her a nazi, because she could guess why he chose that specific insult for her. Still, when she sat down at her table, she took out her phone and sent Alec a quick text: Hey, I noticed you weren't here today! I hope everything's okay!

Not too long after, at a table near to Xander's, two students began yelling at each other. From what they were screaming, it sounded like one had asked out the other one's crush, and from there everything spiraled, so naturally, Dark had to come over to get them to calm down, which thankfully happened quickly. On the way back to his post, however, he spied Xander, and blinked a bit from surprise. He knew he was in this lunch period, but it was crowded enough he didn't expect to actually see him--after all, Dark was doing his job, which meant he wasn't standing trying to find his foster kid to watch him the entire time.

"Hello," He stand, walking up to him, "Where is your lunch?"
 
Back home, Alec's trash can buzzed heartily, but as he and Daizi were downstairs having lunch, it buzzed in vain. The poor device was beginning to feel very neglected and lost stuck in a trash can. Why hadn't its owner even noticed that it was missing? It was such a sad and lonely existence for a phone, always being lost and left in random places and hardly ever used for its intended purpose.

~~

"Hello, sir!" Peter greeted Dark.

Xander looked up at him and shrugged. "Forgot," he stated. He glanced at Peter before saying, "With this morning's rush, I forgot to put one together. Alec usually does that."
 
"Hello, Peter," Dark nodded to him, but to Xander said, "You can go in the lunch line. You shouldn't just skip meals." He felt bad he hadn't thought to ask if lunch had been packed, normally they did it so reliably, he hadn't thought to. Well, going forward he would have to make sure to double check.
 
Xander shrugged. "I'm not that hungry, and I don't like the lunch line. It's fine. I can wait."

"You can finish mine, if you would like," Peter offered, nudging the tray toward Xander. "I had a big breakfast and couldn't eat all this if I wanted to."

Xander glared at him. "I'm not a charity case."

"No, just hangry," Peter retorted lightly.
 
"No, you should eat. Even if you do not like the line, or I have snacks in my classroom, but it is not good to skip meals, you already had a light breakfast." He shifted, he didn't like people skipping meals. He didn't like people seeing the people under his care skipping meals. Food was important, "and you have many hours left of the day,
 
"What is it with you people and trying to force a fellow to eat?" Xander huffed. He reached over and took Peter's tray, sliding it over in front of him. "There, see? I'll eat. Happy?"

Peter smiled and snagged back a couple of carrot sticks but was happy to let Xander have the rest of his rather odd-looking tacos.

~~

Alec came into his room, glancing around the empty space with a sigh. He missed Xander. The day was only half over, but he felt lonely and a little lost, even with Daizi home. He was about to sit on his bed when his trashcan buzzed again, making him jump. "Oh, that's where that went," he murmured, going over and digging out his phone. He saw Sloan's text and debated on how to answer. "Was not feeling well. Chose to stay home today," he finally decided, keeping it simple. After a moment of thought, he added a second text. "Are you sitting with Xander?"
 
"Yes, I am," He said, and repeated himself, "food is important. Nobody should go hungry from stubbornness alone." He hoped he wasn't being weird. Dark knew well he had a habit about being weird about food, and he tried to avoid it while at work, when it was possible, because he was trying to do his job.

At her seat in the lunchroom, Sloan checked her phone, smiling when she saw Alec had replied, "Aww, I'm sorry you aren't feeling well! You better get it together by tomorrow, the show must go on, kid!" Her smile faded slightly after reading the second text, "No, he was kinda a jerk to me, so I thought it was better to just leave him be and not poke the bear."
 
"Alright, alright, I'm eating," Xander huffed. He lifted a taco in a salute to Dark and started eating. Once started, he couldn't stop. He hadn't had much of anything for breakfast, and regular mealtimes had lowered his tolerance for skipping meals. The tacos may have looked weird, but they tasted amazing! He cleaned off Peter's tray of everything but the carrot sticks in no time flat.

~~

Alec winced when he read the text and wished harder than ever that he could be with Xander. "I am sorry for him. No sleep, no breakfast, and emotional pain. He will be sorry when he is calm." It wasn't really an excuse, he didn't think, more of an explanation. Poor Sloan, though. He hoped Xander hadn't said anything too harsh.
 
"Good." Dark nodded, and left Xander in peace, since he couldn't spend all of the period watching over him. He was eating, it was enough. Of course, Dark was still worried. Xander was moodier than usual, which no doubt had to do with getting into trouble the night before, but also what was he supposed to do? They had already forgiven the twins, and had said as much, but it didn't make sense to him to constantly say how okay it was--because first of all, sneaking out wasn't okay, but more than that, he had nothing to apologize for, and the more he told the twins that they were forgiven, the more it felt like he was the one asking for forgiveness. And trying to have an honest and open conversation with Xander was like trying to hug a porcupine, and he still would, he was still going to make that effort, but for that moment, at least he was eating.

"It's whatever," She replied, and initially had planned to leave it at that, but didn't want to worry her friend, "I know you both have a lot going on, so I'll just give him some space. I hope you feel better, though. You're basically your brother's keeper haha"
 
Peter smiled at Xander and tapped the edge of his tray. "Better?"

Xander nodded and looked at Peter warily. "Thank you."

"You're welcome!" Peter glanced around the lunchroom. "We have a bit more time before our next class." He looked at Xander, still slowly chewing one carrot stick, and seemed to be waiting for something.

Xander glared. "What?"

"You may not have wanted to eat, but something's eating at you," Peter remarked.

"What are you, my therapist?" Xander groused.

"No, but I hope I'm your friend," Peter replied.

Xander sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Bad luck for you. I hurt people. It's my finest talent."

"You don't hurt Alec," Peter pointed out.

"Not usually, no, but that's different."

"Oh?" Peter finished off his carrot. "How?"

"He's my brother." Xander could tell in a look that Peter wasn't accepting that as a good enough answer. "He gets me, I get him."

"And you get each other because...?" Peter prompted.

"Because... we've been together forever?" Xander floundered. What did this sunshine-haired kid want?

Peter nodded. "I see. So, would it be accurate to say you two get along and do not hurt each other due to familiarity and sharing? Perhaps trust has a little something to do with it as well as not assuming the other is out to get you?"

Xander opened his mouth. And shut it. Then tried again. "Maybe?"

Peter smiled and nodded to him. "Then I'd say that's a good place to start modeling your behavior toward others you don't want to hurt."

Xander snorted. "You are my therapist."

"I've been called worse," Peter chuckled. He stood and picked up the tray. "I'll bus that for ya." He glanced toward Sloan's table. "Say, isn't that what's-his-name watching her? The one that won't leave her alone."

~~

His brother's keeper? Alec frowned at the phone, not sure how to respond to that. He wasn't sure what that meant. He'd ask Daizi. He quickly typed out, "I'm still sorry he hurt your feelings. I look forward to seeing you tomorrow, and I hope the talent show is as good as you hope." Then he went out to find Daizi. "Daizi? What does it mean to be your brother's keeper?"
 
"Thank you. And I'm sure it will be! You've worked hard!" She sat down her phone and went back to talking with her 'friend,' allowing herself to forget, or at least ignore, the unpleasant conversation she had with Xander. But then when here 'friend,' Emily, got up to throw away his trash, who chose to sit down right next to her but Jordan.

"Hey Sloan," He said, grinning at her, "You look really pretty today."

"Thank you," She replied and shifted further away from him, but he just moved closer again, so she began rooting through her backpack, "I have a lot of homework to do, actually, so..."

~~

"Hm?" Daizi asked, turning towards him. She had been in the music room, which was also where the rats and Neith were kept, and so when she faced Alec, she was holding her pet tarantula in one hand, "Well, there's a story in the Abrahamic religions of two brothers, and one becomes jealous of the other, so the jealous one kills their brother, and it's supposedly the first ever murder in the world. When god asks, 'Where's your brother,' the one who committed the murder said basically, 'how should I know, I'm not my brother's keeper' which is basically saying, 'Where he is isn't my responsibility or my buisness.' So to be your brother's keeper, it's like saying you do take on the responsibility for caring for them and making sure they're okay. Why do you ask?"
 
Peter and Xander watched Jordan and Sloan interact. Peter dealt with his tray and walked over to them, smiling in his usual way. Xander stayed right where he was to watch. He'd already messed up enough. No need to do anything more.

"Hey, Sloan!" Peter called. "I forgot to ask you something." He leaned over between Jordan and Sloan, his hand on the table to support him. "We're having this discussion right now about which is better: chocolate or butterscotch pudding?"

~~

"Sloan said I'm my brother's keeper, but I don't know that I am. I think he's mine," Alec said.
 
She smiled up at him, immediately able to see what he was doing, "Oh man, you guys really have the best conversations over there. I prefer chocolate but honestly I'm a grandmother, I'm a huge fan of tapioca, but I know not everyone likes that texture."

Jordan huffed, irritated about being seperated from Sloan, "I was kinda talking to her, dude."

~~

"Oh, well," Daizi thought about it for a few moments and tucked Neith back into her terrarium, "I think in a healthy relationship, platonic, romantic, familial, whatever, both parties are sort of each other's keepers, as well as their own. Because you have to be able to love yourself and stand on your own two feet, you have to be an individual, and be able to soothe yourself and all of that, because they won't always be there. Dark and I rely on each other a lot, but we work different jobs, and sometimes mine requires me to travel somewhere without him, and we miss each other, but it isn't insurmountable. But still we care for each other and we make sure the other is okay," She smoothed the front of her dress, "I don't think it's wrong of Sloan to say you're Xander's keeper, and I don't think you're wrong to dispute it. I think if a fight broke out, Xander would take care of it, but also I know that when he's upset emotionally, you can calm him down better than anyone. It goes both ways."
 
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"I don't think I've ever had tapioca," Peter admitted before turning to Jordan. "Oh! Hey, mate, I didn't see you there. I don't think we've met. Hi, I'm Peter!" He turned, somehow managing to put even more of his body between Sloan and Jordan without actually sitting down and held out a hand uncomfortably close to Jordan. Jordan would have to scoot back to take it, but Peter's smile was nothing short of Cheribic. "Are you a pudding lover, too?"

~~

Alec watched the tarantula curiously but from a safe distance. He wasn't afraid of spiders, but one that big would surely hurt if it bit you. "I think I understand that," he agreed. "I talk to people better than he does, too. I guess Xander's still grumpy at school and snapped at Sloan. She makes him nervous, so already being grumpy means he's more likely to say something he regrets."
 
"It's good," She said lightly, while Jordan swore and in a huff walked away, kicking the trash can as he left, which caused Sloan to flinch, "Thank you." She looked over her shoulder towards Jordan, who wasn't exactly raging or brooding, but it was the way he only spoke to her when she was alone that concerned her, and the way he reacted when he lost 'his time,' with her, as he sometimes called it.

~~

"I wish I could help him more," Daizi murmured thoughtfully, "Most of the time, when he snaps at me, I can understand where the emotion is really coming from, but it still... I'll always stick around, and I'll always make an effort, but many people won't wait so long, and the more he pushes people away, the harder it will be for him, I fear. I hope he didn't say anything too bad to her, she's a nice girl." Sometimes, although she'd never admit it, Xander stressed her out. It was much more difficult to connect with him, and she did her best, but it required subtlety, because if she jumped in too quickly, he wouldn't respond well. It was to be expected, and she didn't take it personally, but if she was having a more sensitive day--courtesy of her baby--it could be difficult to shake off.
 
"He never even told me if he likes pudding or not," Peter said morosely then slid into the seat Jordan had vacated, scooting back to give Sloan more room. "Ever think about taking some self-defense classes? There's nothing more terrifying than a girl that can knock you on your posterior." He grinned and leaned back. He was only there until Sloan's friend returned, no more.

For his part, Xander watched Jordan stalk off. Once the other had a good lead and neither Sloan nor Peter were looking in that direction, he stood and followed, keeping his distance and ensuring other students stayed between him and Jordan. Nearly everyone visited the restroom after lunch before class. Hopefully, Jordan was a part of that "nearly everyone."

~~

Alec considered his options for a moment, weighing whether or not to say anything. He decided he should and said slowly, "Xander is scared of people hurting him because once he did trust someone. They hurt him bad. Both of us, I suppose, but I guess he just decided having no one at all was better someone who might possibly hurt him. He likes you, though. And I think he almost trusts you."
 
"What makes you think I haven't?" She asked, tucking a loose curl behind her ear, "No, but honestly, I think that would just make him like me more. He started to get weird with me after he saw me tell someone off. It's just some guys... I'm in gymnastics, so I can't fight, but if I ever became an actor, not that I would, I've got basically all the training you need to be a superhero."

Not too long after, a girl with pink streaks in her hair and a bright sundress came back to the table, having hurried back after seeing Jordan hurry off, "Oh gosh, did he come around? I'm so sorry, I should've just waited."

"No, it's fine, it was bound to happen, uhm," She turned, "Emily, this is Peter. Peter, this is Emily."

Meanwhile, as Xander expected, Jordan, a bit annoyed, went to the restroom, mostly just to be irritating somewhere else.

~~

"I'm glad to know he nearly trusts me," She sat down on the piano bench and stretched out her legs, "and that he likes me. I'm fond of you... It's difficult, sometimes, because there's so much we don't know about you. What you've been through, what you've seen. And we're never going to push you to tell us, so you don't have to worry about that, but what it means is Dark and I are always just guessing, trying to figure out what you need, and what will help you, and how we should best approach you. And we're happy to guess, and we're going to keep guessing until we guess correctly--I don't mean guess at what you've been through, I mean guess at what will help you, but I wish I could skip to knowing, because it's no way to live, being scared of everyone all the time, always having to protect your heart. But healing takes time, and you can't rush it or skip past it. But I would do anything to help him more, and so would Dark."
 
Peter smiled and stood to shake her hand. "Hello, Emily! It's nice to meet you. I have to be getting along now, so I do hope you'll excuse my rather rude departure." He nodded to Sloan. "See you later!"

Xander followed Jordan in and took a moment to glance around. One other boy was on his way out, and for the moment, the room was empty of all but him and Jordan. He walked quietly, closing the distance between them smoothly. "Hey," he said when he was right behind Jordan.

When Jordan started to turn, Xander grabbed his shoulder and flipped him around, throwing him off balance. Xander leaned into him, driving him back hard against the wall, one arm across Jordan's neck, the other slamming into the wall right next to Jordan's head. Xander shifted, standing slightly sideways, his footing solid and his full bodyweight keeping him anchored against Jordan. It wouldn't be an easy thing to move him.

"Sloan is off limits," he said, his voice a low growl. "You're not going to go sniffing around her anymore. Got it, pup? If you do, I'll be finding you off school grounds. Understand?"

~~

"I'm sorry we're such a difficult package," Alec said softly. "I know you are willing to stick it out no matter what, but I can't help wishing we just a little easier to deal with. I feel like... I feel like we almost know what we're supposed to be like, how we're supposed to react to certain things, but we can't quite make ourselves do that."
 
"What the hell!?" Jordan yelled, squriming and trying to get out of Xander's grip, "Last time I checked, she's not your girlfriend, so I don't really think it's any of," he grunted, still struggling, "any of your buisness."

~~

"You don't have to apologize," Daizi replied, "we knew what we were getting into, and I think I'd rather have to work harder with you and your brother than have it easy with some normal kid, because you two need a good home more than normal kids do. You'll never be a normal kid, Dark and I aren't. Trauma just makes you different, but that's okay, and with time, and care, and effort, it'll be easier. Isn't it already easier now than it was in December? It just takes time."
 
"You ain't her boyfriend either, and she don't like you, so I'm making it my business," Xander all but whispered, getting right up in his face. "Back off. I won't tell you twice." He gave Jordan a hard shove into the wall and backed away, giving him a glare before stalking out of the bathroom.

~~

Alec smiled at Daizi. "I hope I learn to be as patient as you when I'm older. And, yes, I think it is easier. Lots easier. We're just uncovering things we never realized were a problem before, I think, and it's surprising. But we'll persevere!"
 
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