How Green Becomes Wood

"In her defense," Sloan said, "I actually know Peter pretty well. We've been friends for like... Well, since he moved here, I guess, so I've got insider knowledge. And yeah, I think it's worth talking to him. The worst that will happen is that you'll realize he's just a normal dude. Like he's not going to be weirded out that you spoke to him, unless you rush up like 'I'm your biggest fan, I've been obsessed with you since I first saw you.'"

~~

Milo looked at Alec and then awkwardly looked away, bouncing his leg. He didn't know what he was meant to say to that. "I just," he tried to say, feeling his mouth go dry for the hundredth time that night. "You know. How many... times..." He gestured at the room, "Grandpa keeps saying I'd be happier if I... um... Seized... the day... more. He says--stop thinking so much. Just. Live."
 
Sherri giggled, blushing. "Alright, I suppose you're right. And, yes, you do have the inside scoop here. Alright. I'll try."

"You should go now," Rumy urged.

Sherri blanched. "Now?"

"Sure! Just talk to him, you know? That's what parties are for. Besides, like Sloan said, you can't ask him out even if you wanted to with his parents watching, so why not take the opportunity to talk to him like a regular person?"

Sherri glanced between Sloan and Rumy, looking caught between wanting to do just that and terrified.

~~

"He's right," Alec admitted, "but it's a lot harder to do than to just say. Really hard. I appreciate you taking his advice and coming. Even if it was just because Xander invited you."

"Nah, he didn't come for me. He came for the awesome pictures and the lemonade," Xander said, shrugging it off, though he did redden just a little.
 
"Hesitating is just going to make you talk yourself out of it." Sloan pointed out, "and then you're just going to keep pining and regretting and wondering. What's more awkward? Approaching him at a party where everyone is mingling or stalking him at school?"

~~

"Well," Milo blinked, thinking it through, "I did, right? I did come just because you invited me, because, you know, if you hadn't, I wouldn't have known about the party, and you can't go to something that you don't know is happening."
 
"Nnnngggghhh- Okay!" Sherri gasped. She pushed back her chair and stood with determination. "You're right! I'm going to go introduce myself, talk a bit, and not act like a complete fool!"

"You go!" Rumy cheered her on as Sherri marched away. She grinned at Sloan and gave her shoulder a light bump with her fist. "Excellent advice."

~~

"That's... a fair assessment," Xander admitted. "I just meant you didn't come only because... Anyway, not important. It's been a cool party."

"Even though you two haven't really left these couches this whole time?" Alec asked doubtfully, glancing back and forth between them.
 
"I might have advised differently if it was a different friend of mine," Sloan confided, grinning as Sheila made her way over to Peter, "but he's probably the chillest and most confident one of my friends. I genuinely don't know if he'd ever be interested in dating her, but the best way to get over a crush is to learn more about them so you stop idolizing them. He's a great guy, but he's just a person."

~~

"Well, no," Milo mumbled, again stopping himself from putting his feet on the couch, "I... walked. I wanted more than one angle. But... It's crowded. I don't like crowds. Have you ever, um, heard of a crowd crush? Or surge? I think that... I would probably die, in a crowd crush. But these couches are by the exit."
 
"Wow. That's real deep. I like it," Rumy said, nodding and looking a little impressed. "He does seem like a nice enough guy, and I've never seen he be anything but nice to another person, so whether or not it goes anywhere, I like to think they could be friends."

~~

"No, but it sounds scary," Alec admitted.

"If you'd wanted another angle, we could have moved," Xander said with a frown. "There's two more exits. We can walk together."

"Yes! Lets!" Alec said, springing to his feet. Then he winced as his feet reminded him of how sore they were.
 
It didn't seem particularly insightful, but Rumy praising her felt nice, so she let the compliment ride, "If Peter is rude to her, I'll eat my shoe. It's just not the sort of thing that's in his nature, I don't think."

~~

"Well, I did get some, from different angles," Milo said, running his thumb along the tip of his middle finger nail. Alec was standing, should he stand? But Alec's feet hurt, also, so they probably wouldn't be walking, "Just, not as many, and you should get better shoes."
 
"Then I hope he's not rude because I like your shoes," Rumy told her bluntly as she shifted to watch.

Sherri went up to Peter slowly. Peter was talking with a friend of his from school, but he paused and turned to talk to Sherri. Rumy and Sloan couldn't hear what was said from where they sat, but it was clear from the body language that Sherri was awkwardly attempting a conversation while Peter listened and watched her with polite interest. Peter smiled and gestured to his friend, and after a bit, the three were holding a conversation that looked natural, even happy.

~~

Xander pushed himself up and stretched. "I could use a walk, too. Want to follow the sides of the room and get some pics from there?"
 
"Thanks. My mom hates them, she always whines about how I doodle on them, but I think things are more fun when they're lived in." She said, swiveling to watch the conversation without seeming like she was staring, which of course she was. As the trio relaxed into a comfortable conversation, she glanced at Rumy, "Told you."

~~

No Milo fully stood, fixing his glasses and smoothing his clothes too many times, "Sure, we can. Um, Alec, a crowd crush or surge is when," and he proceeded to explain the disaster type in his usual halted, awkward style, and would continue to explain it unless he was cut off.
 
"I never would have thought to draw on mine, but I think they look cool," Rumy told her, glancing down at the shoes. "I think I might have to give it a try, if you don't mind me copying you." She watched Sherri for a bit before giving an approving nod. "Good. Very good. I think things might actually work out for her."

~~

Alec listened as they walked, the idea of stopping Milo not even occurring to him as the horror grew. What happened?? Why?? How often? Why would anyone let this happened?!

Xander finally reached over and gently tapped Milo on the head with the back of his hand, the touch barely ruffling his hair it was so gentle. "You're scaring him," he told Milo lightly. "Alec, these are relatively rare occurrences that usually happen during times of panic or stupidity or both, like someone thinking they hear a gunshot or something and spreading the panic, or a Black Friday rush. Occasionally, a mosh pit. We're fine here. Lots of exits, not that many people, and sane adults that'll keep everyone calm in the case of an emergency."

"Oh," Alec said faintly, still rattled. Now he truly understood Milo's fear of crowds, and he thought he might be developing the same fear.
 
"I don't own it," Sloan told her, "and if you're a painter, you can probably do it better than I can. I just doodle, you can be one of those people who do really beautiful paintings on white shoes... As for Sherri..." She watched for a few moments, "It probably depends on what 'work out' means. At the very least, it looks like it'll be a positive interaction... it may leave her even more obsessed."

~~

"Oh, I--" Milo turned, looking at them both with wide eyes, "I'm... sorry, it doesn't really happen a lot, it's really just a problem when there aren't a lot of emergency exits, or like... not marked, ones, but this place has a lot of exits, so it's not really... likely, it's just something that gets stuck in my head."
 
"Oh, I doubt that. For one thing, I've never worked with shoes before, so I'll probably ruin the first pair or two," Rumy said cheerfully. "Oh well. I'll just make sure to buy cheap shoes while I'm practicing. Then again, the doodling does go really well with shoes, so maybe I'll try just doodling." She looked out at Sherri and nodded. "You're right, but I think - hope - she won't completely loose her head. I have to admit, I don't really get it. I mean, he's cute, but I didn't think he was that cute. No offense to him. Just goes to show beauty is relative, right?"

~~

"It's alright," Alec assured him. "I get things like that stuck in my head, too. It can lead to a truly terrifying world."

Xander snorted lightly. "Don't worry. If there's any kind of emergency, just stick with me. I'll get you both out even if I have to carry you. I got you." He didn't say that he, too, got things stuck in his head and that was why no matter what room he was in, he always knew exactly how many exits there were and where and how to get to them. That he constantly ran scenarios in his head of how to get himself and his brother out of any given situation. He didn't feel panicked about it. In fact, the scenarios gave him a sense of security that he had some kind of plan, even if it would need to be adjusted on the fly. He'd never fully lost the desire to sit with his back to a wall and near an escape route even when Dark was there, though having Dark around did help.
 
"I don't get it either, really. I mean, I think he's... objectively... nice looking, but he's not really what i would call my type. But I think accents and smiles do a lot of heavy lifting, unless you're one of those girls who like men who never smile." Sloan replied with a little shrug.

~~

"I think that because I'm... not a very short... person... I would probably be okay, but..." He rubbed the back of his neck, "I think about it, and everything seems so... chaotic. Anything can happen at any time. And that can... you know... ruin..."
 
"True. Accents do do a lot of heavy lifting with a person," Rumy agreed with a nod. "Anyway, what do you do for fun? Other than dance?"

~~

"Yes," Alec said slowly, "but if you only focus on the things that can happen, you don't get the chance to enjoy the things that are happening." He smiled at Milo. "Like getting to hang out with friends at a really expensive venue the likes of which we will probably never see again."

Xander looked up and around. "The streamers are nice," he commented mildly. "And the disco ball. I wonder if they'll turn it on? There. I've enjoyed." He stopped as they reached the wall and turned to Milo. "How's this angle?"
 
"That's why our few immigrant teachers have such a fuss drawn up about them," Sloan replied, "although Ms. McGann is really pretty, so I guess it makes sense." She diverted her eyes and finished the last few sips of her drink, hoping that didn't come across weird, "I'm a gymnast, actually. What about you? Besides dance and art?"

~~

"Yeah, the angle is good," Milo said, lifting the camera to his eye, and falling silent for a few minutes as he took pictures he felt were 'correct' and then he lowered it, "The Disco Ball is Chekov's gun."
 
"I really want to get into agriculture, but there's not much profit, so I was thinking of supplementing whatever farming income I get with some kind of work-from-home job," Rumy told her. "I was thinking maybe data entry or something similar. Plus, I've got a booth at the farmer's market already, so I have some income from my art. Maybe I could offer classes or something."

~~

Xander frowned. "A gun?"

"Isn't Checkov a Star Wars character?" Alec asked in confusion.
 
"Really?" Sloan asked, "That's so cool! I didn't know people our age could have a stall there... That's interesting, I should tell Xander that. He sells leather crafts. Was it a difficult process getting involved?"

~~

"No, well, yes, but no, but no." Milo frowned, "Chekov is a character in Star Trek, not Star Wars, but he's named, I think probably--probably, yeah--for Anton Chekov, who is, was, a Russian author. Playright. But he also did short stories. And he said, you know, if there is a gun on stage, it will be fired by the end of the play. And," he pointed, "I think, generally, if there is a disco ball, it will be turned on by the end of the evening, because otherwise, what is it there for?"
 
"Not really. You gotta sign up for it and fill out a form, and they do do some cursory checks to make sure you're not some kind of crazy weirdo, and there's a small fee that goes toward paying for permits and stuff, but other that, it's pretty easy," Rumy told her, grinning. "I did have to get permission from my folks since I'm technically underage. During slower days, the vendors all chat with each other and share tips and tricks and just chew the fat. It's a lot of fun."

~~

"Ooohhh," Alec said, drawing out the sound of understanding. "Okay, that makes sense. I didn't know that."

Xander looked up at the ball. "Hear that? Now you're obligated by the rules of literature and playwrites. You gotta turn on before the night ends. Or else." He glanced at Milo. "Or else what?"
 
"Oh, cool. That sounds like a ton of fun." Sloan said, looking back at Sheila and Peter, "That's something I think people miss out on too much, a community. That's what's great about gymnastics, I love getting to be part of a team."

~~

"I... think..." Milo paused, trying to remember if he had ever heard what happened if the gun didn't go off, "Then I think you just leave everyone... unsatisfied. Like, something was left... incomplete, you know? Or it's, um, subversive."
 
"What's it like being a gymnast?" Rumy asked curiously. "I don't know much about it other than the glimpses I've seen on TV."

~~

"Or we'll all be very disappointed," Xander told the disco ball gravely. He looked at Milo. "Not the best threat I've ever heard, but I guess if you got the right fan base, it's terrifying."

Alec laughed. "If it does turn on, what are you two going to do? Dance?"

Xander froze like a deer in the headlights.
 
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