How Green Becomes Wood

"You may not have taken them away from him," Daizi pointed out, "You're able to make multiple copies of an image. But ultimately you can't know his intentions without talking to him. "
 
"Is it worth it to try to hunt him down like a rabbit?" Xander huffed. He shifted in the chair and hooked one leg over its arm. "I saw a media post one time about how some people put up walls to see who'll climb over them, something about judging the worth of that person, but how do I know you're a person worth climbing a wall for if you don't even frickin' talk to a person? I mean, being friends with Milo is not the worst idea ever, and I thought we were getting somewhere, but then I had to open my mouth and... At least this time I don't think I was doing a bad thing." He frowned to himself. He thought he handled it all alright, but he wasn't sure anymore. Was the usual result of handling something well to have the other person avoid you?
 
Daizi nodded slowly, and after Xander stopped talking again, she took a few moments to think through what he had said before asking a new question, "Why did you first ask him to go to your party? You've never really sought out new friends, so what was it about him? It's okay if you don't know."
 
"I dunno. I guess he just seemed so..." he groped for a better word, but, failing, settled for the first one he thought of, "sad and pathetic. Actually, it was more Alec's idea to invite him, but I didn't really fight him on it. I just... don't get Milo." He blew out a puff of air. "And I thought that maybe it might be kind of nice to... have a friend there that was... you know... strictly my friend. We share Peter and Sloan, and Alec has Tom and Becky now, so I thought maybe having one person at the party that I invited might be cool. Even things out. Maybe I'm just not equipped for friendships."
 
"I don't think that's true, habibi. You are protective, and loyal, and more thoughtful than you let yourself accept. Those are great qualities to have in a friend. And the fact you are thinking about it all this time later proves you are caring, too." She lifted her hand to touch his shoulder but then dropped it, not wanting to invade his boundaries, "If it's something that matters to you, to make friends outside of your shared pool, then it might be good for you to try to talk to him, even if it means climbing his walls, and even if it means you don't know if he's worth it. You never know if people are worth it until you try."
 
Xander squirmed, a little embarrassed but pleased by Daizi's praise. "Yeah, I guess you're right about that," he admitted. "I suppose if I can pin him down I'll talk to him, but I draw the line at trying to hunt him out like a... ferret or something. They're used for hunting rodents, right? Anyway, I'll see if I can talk to him next time."

While he was thinking about it, he pulled out his phone and constructed a text to both Sloan and Peter separately. Hey, what do you think of candid photos of yourself? Are you good with it if someone takes your picture in a public place?

Peter responded almost instantly saying he wasn't bothered at all. He asked no follow up questions to the seemingly random question Xander asked.
 
"Let me know how it goes, okay? Because it's just as likely he's stressed about it too." She smiled at him, staying sitting upright and near him. "Thank you for being willing to talk to me about this."

Yeah, I'm chill with it, I guess. I mean, I don't like being put online without my permission, but if people just take a picture of me I'm not gonna complain about it. I think I generally look better in candid shots than in posed ones. Why?
 
Xander cautiously reached out a hand and hesitated. He worked himself up a little and completed the gesture, reaching out to gingerly pat Daizi's arm. "Thank you for, you know, talking," he mumbled awkwardly.

Why was a good question. Discussion of ethics. Posting online can be invasion of privacy, but what if someone's keeping them in shoebox or something. Seems okay, I guess, if you don't hate pictures.
 
"I'm always willing to talk to you," Daizi told him, and in appreciation of his gesture, didn't put her hand over his. However, she couldn't stop herself from saying, "I love you, Xander."

Uhhh I mean, I guess it depends on why they're putting them in a shoebox??? Because if someone is taking candid pictures of me and storing them for... ya know... "private use" that's effing f--ing weird.
 
Xander flushed, though Daizi's words didn't make him feel as weird as they used to, and stood up. "You cold? Want a blanket or something?"

He glanced at his phone and almost snorted but stopped himself. He didn't think Daizi knew he was texting, and that would be a weird sound to give if she couldn't see what he was doing. Keepsakes, gutter mind!! Memories and stuff. Scrapbooks. All that.
 
"No, I'm alright. Thank you. I'll probably go upstairs and check on Dark soon." Daizi replied, rubbing her cheek against Ivy's head.

Hey, you could have been more clear! But if it's just for scrapbooks or whatever, then it's chill. I just don't want to be, you know, sexualised.
 
"Alright. I'm going to be upstairs. Lemme know if you need anything," Xander said, heading off to do his thing. He needed to ask Alec if he had Tom and Becky's phone numbers. He read Sloan's text, but not having a reply, he just left it. He'd gotten the answer he needed, so he saw no reason to tell her the full story.
 
"I will, thank you." She replied, lying back down. If nothing else, she was content to know her son would come to her when he was having an issue, and as Xander went up, she whispered to Ivy, in Arabic, "You learn from your brother, okay? Always talk to Mama when you have a problem. Okay, habibti? Always." She kissed her head and then sighed, shutting her eyes to listen to the music.
 
The next day at school, Xander kept an eye out for Milo. First, he had to talk to Becky. Alec had Tom's number, but Becky's mom didn't let her have a cell phone. So, he had to hunt her down first and ask her about the pictures. Like Sloan, she was a little cautious and confused but agreed once Xander assured her that it was for nothing weird. Now all he had to do was figure out where Milo was and, more than that, how to actually talk to him. Lunch seemed the best option, so while Xander kept an eye out, he didn't look in earnest until lunch time rolled around.
 
Come Monday, Dark was more or less like his normal self again, although on Sunday he still self-isolated and stayed in his bed for most of the day.

At lunch, Milo was being his typical, evasive self, hurrying into the cafeteria to find the most empty, overlooked seat in the whole room, taking quick looks over both shoulders as he went.
 
Xander spotted Milo from his usual table with Alec, Sloan, and the others. He mumbled his excuses and hurried off, eyes pinned to Milo. He took the roundabout route, moving fast to get in front of Milo instead of behind him. He waited until he was closer to call out, the word coming out in a sharp bark. "Milo!"
 
Flinching like a punished dog, Milo looked first down at his feet before raising his head and looking at Xander, adjusting his glasses with one hand, "Hey, Xander, uhm, what's up?"
 
Xander took the envelope out from inside his battered, old jacket. He'd kept the smaller one with the pictures with himself and Alec, but all the rest were there. He half handed and half tossed it to Milo. "You are so annoying to track down, you know that? And don't say 'that's the point.'"
 
Milo frowned at the envelope, and as he opened it he said, "Most people who want to find me don't have good intentions." Looking into the envelope, he pulled some of the pictures out only briefly before putting them back in, "I gave these to you."
 
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