How Green Becomes Wood

"I guess you don't have to worry about maintaining your dignity if you expect to be gone in a few weeks." She said, "but it is weird that he just never... does anything. I don't love throwing hands but I will if it'll stop my face from being beat in. Maybe he's Buddhist or something."
 
Xander thought back to when they'd had the scuffle with the football players. He hadn't really been paying attention then, but he was fairly certain he'd seen Milo throw at least one punch. "Maybe. Doubt it. Don't see a lot of Buddhists around here. Guess he could."

"Or maybe he just doesn't like fighting," Alec pointed out. "Some people can be like that, you know."
 
"I know, but if you're being attacked, even if you hate fighting you think you'd do what you could to get away," Sloan pointed out. "Also your dad is Iraqi, so I don't think we can use proportions to estimate people's backgrounds... And Buddhism seems like something a kid like him would convert to. Based on what we know about him." She made a face and shifted uncomfortably, "No, see, now that he's going to your party it feels weird to gossip about him. He's a step too close."
 
"I hope he comes. It'll be fun to have an unknown in the group!" Alec grinned.

Xander grunted and leaned back on the seats. "I doubt he will. I bet he just said yes because of peer pressure."

"Except he then asked you for clarifications on the details," Alec pointed out. "I think he'll come. I bet he even likes you!"

Xander raised a brow at Alec, seriously doubting him, then used Sloan to change the subject. "Anyway, we shouldn't gossip. Mortal sin and all that. We should just focus on getting through today without failing all our classes."
 
"If he agreed to go due to peer pressure, it makes sense that he'd show up due to peer pressure too," Sloan pointed out, hopping up off the bench and heading towards the door, "I'm gonna try to get to class early. I'll see you at lunch--Happy Birthday!"
 
"Thanks, Sloan!" Alec called after her, waving. He sat back, grinning. "This is a good day."

"I dunno," Xander muttered, slouching down in his seat. "I think I liked it better when we were basically ignored."

Alec glanced at him and sobered a little. "Having a hard time being in the spotlight?" At Xander's shrug, Alec nudged him gently. "You'll have to get used to it when we become a famous band. Until then, it's just one day. Come on. Let's get to class. I doubt anyone else will really notice."

Xander grunted but got up and followed Alec down from the bleachers, wondering when their roles had been reversed and he started to be the follower.
 
Not much of note happened for Sloan, Dark, or, happily, for Milo, and lunch came fairly quickly. Sloan had been working really hard to keep lunch feeling normal since Peter's announcement, but today that didn't really seem like an issue, since it was a double-birthday, so normal wasn't really an expectation.

During Alec's art class, Mr. Major presented him with a special party hat, which was something he did for all of his students, not only Alec, and he fully expected the teen to wear it during the class period, but would not force him to.
 
During lunch, Peter had to express his birthday congratulations as well and asked when the best time would be to give them their presents. Alec stoutly stated that the only present he needed was his friends' presence, to which Peter stoutly stated that he had a present for each of them and he was going to give it to them and they couldn't stop him. That devolved into a pretend argument until Alec's friends from the drama club came to join them, and then it turned into a sort ot little party with Xander sitting on the edge but not thoroughly hating it. Just mostly.

Alec accepted the hat gravely and wore it all through class and even out into the hall. He appreciated Mr. Major's efforts, and he would never turn down the opportunity to wear a fun hat.
 
When Alec's drama friends came over, Sloan kind of awkwardly scooted back to sit by Xander, having not quite figured out how to interact with them since her breakup with Emily, and anyway, it was Xander's birthday too, so he deserved some of the attention.

Milo had crept into the cafeteria, and watched the little gathering at a distance, trying to decide if he should walk up and engage with them, since after all he was going to go to their party, and it'd be weird not to speak to them all day and then show up, but then there was a whole group at the table, and, well... He just, he couldn't... Be amongst that. He'd have to introduce himself to all of them, and then he'd have to explain why they didn't know him, and probably how he met Alec and Xander, and they probably didn't actually want to hang out with him anyway, so he decided to slip away until the number of people died down, then he'd say hello. If he could find the courage.
 
Xander finished his lunch first, as he usually did, so, after a few mumbled words to Sloan, he gathered up his trash and took it to the trashcan, taking his time. He didn't mind Alec's friends, but they were, well, rather similar to Alec and Peter in their hyper-optimism, and there was only so much of that he could take. At least the day was nearly over.
 
"Happy birthday," Milo said quietly and awkwardly, having accidentally snuck up to Xander when he saw him slip away from the rest of the group, deciding if he didn't take his chance now, he'd be too anxious to do so later.
 
"Ah!" Xander dropped everything in his hands and spun, ready to punch. "Wha- Oh." He dropped his fist when he saw it was just Milo. "Damn it, man, hasn't anyone ever told you not to sneak up on a fellow?" he snapped, catching his breath. He leaned down and started picking things up from the floor. "Um. Thanks," he muttered awkwardly in Milo's direction. "Appreciate it."
 
"Sorry... I don't mean to... I just, well, have you heard of the X-Man whose mutant power is that if people are not currently looking at him, they forget he exists? And, do you know how most people, when they say they'd be an X-Man they'd say they'd be Wolverine or Rogue or Storm? I'd be that guy." He shrugged awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck, "My granddad says I'll give someone a heart attack one day. I, um, would tell your brother--Tell him happy birthday, I mean, not that I'm going to kill my own grandfather--but he looks kinda busy. But I'll see both of you tonight?"
 
Xander had heard of the X-Men and a couple of names in passing, but otherwise, he had no idea what Milo was talking about. He listened, a bit bewildered, but nodded vaguely when Milo seemed to be slowing down. An X-Man gave his grandad a heartattack? "Yeah, I'll tell him, and, yeah, it's tonight, we're meeting at the thrift store, then it's on to the arcade."
 
"Oh yeah, I know, I was just confirming." He gave a tiny, brief smile amd then looked away, "I never really learned how to talk to people. But I'll do my best not to be weird tonight."
 
Xander glanced back toward the lunch table where Alec and Peter were laughing about something and trying to draw Sloan into their game. "Be as weird as you want. You'll fit in better that way." He dumped his trash in the can. "Trust me. You won't be the weirdest one there or have the hardest time talking to people." He turned and started for his table again.
 
Milo followed Xander's gaze and then rocked forwards onto the balls of his feet briefly, and in a low voice asked, "Is that a bet?" But he didn't force Xander to stay and answer him, instead he quietly slipped away to wherever he hung out to escape notice.
 
Xander sighed and headed back to his seat, sincerely hoping that Milo would not take it as a bet or feel too pressured to perform or act in a certain way. He had no doubt there would be some pressure. There usually was. When he got back, he managed to tell Alec that Milo had said Happy Birthday. Alec looked for Milo to wave to him, but he couldn't spot the other boy.

One of Alec's new friends, Becky, was chatting with or maybe at Sloan, telling her all about the kitten her family had adopted two weeks ago. Someone had mentioned something that was vaguely related to cats, and she'd gotten quite excited to tell them all about it, especially Sloan.
 
Sloan was nodding along to what Becky was saying, interested in what she was saying, but it was more of a polite interest than true fascination. But it was good to know she wasn't being completely ignored, and Sloan was good at talking to people, so once the initial tension broke it wasn't too difficult to find a groove with them. And soon enough the bell rang, so she made her goodbyes and headed off to class, having no strong feelings one way or another about Alec's new friends.
 
The twins parted ways with Sloan and the drama kids, but Peter shared the next class with them. They headed off to their classes, still chattering the whole way. It wasn't long until school would be over!
 
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