How Green Becomes Wood

"Yeah, I've already got friends," Benny replied, taking out his phone and proceeding to ignore them for the rest of the drive.

"He thinks he's too cool for any of us," Sloan chuckled, "That's why you're lucky to have a much younger sister. You get to have a good few years where she just admires you before you start embarrassing her all the time."
 
"Yeah. I'm used to not being cool enough, even if I think I'm the cat's pajamas," Alec said with a smile despite the pain in his heart. Maybe Xander was tired of Alec's antics and was happy to have this excuse to never come back. He shook himself. No, that couldn't be it. He forced himself to find a random conversation topic and brought it up to Sloan for something to talk about as they drove.
 
To the best of her ability, Sloan took Alec's lead, chatting with him about what ever he wanted, because she wanted to support him through this, and trying to force him to talk wouldn't help, so she bit back advice, and she bit back questions, and just tried to give him what he needed, so she didn't start to feel like an unsafe person to turn to.

At home, Dark felt fairly bewildered as he recognized he needed to... start getting ready to go to work.
 
Xander arrived home first and headed inside, pausing just long enough to kick off his shoes and touch the salt. "Just passing through," he called. "I gotta get to Judo." He did take the time to say hello to Ivy and then dashed upstairs to grab his Judo bag. Then he was down and out the door again, leaving just as Sloan and Alec arrived.

"Thanks again for the ride," Alec said as he got out of her car. "I really appreciate it. See you around!" He turned and headed across the street, watching as Xander's van left. He sighed and walked into the house.
 
Alec stood there for a minute, his brain going a mile a minute. Finally, he stated - rather loudly but not quite yelling - "I hate school. I hate school, I hate teenagers, I hate being a teenager, I hate feelings and emotions and grades and footballers and bad hearing!" He started stomping toward the stairs but paused. "Friends. Most friends are good. Even when they are hyperactive sugar bombs."
 
Taken a bit aback by that outburst, Daizi took a few moments pause to process what he had said before saying, empathetically, "I hated teenagers, too. And football players, and the popular kids..." She turned her head slightly to the side, "It does get better. Really. High school doesn't last forever."
 
Alec heaved a sigh and walked back to Daizi. "I think Milo forgave me or is in the process of forgiving me. I don't feel very forgiven. Sloan's awesome, though. And I got a bad grade in a subject I thought I was doing okay in. A girl asked me out. She seems nice, but I also kind of like a girl who's older than me. And the footballers tried to give me a hard time, and I think they might have hurt my coat, but they stopped when I yelled at them. I feel like I courted death itself. I am so emotionally confused and drained."
 
"That sounds like a lot," Daizi replied gently, "I'm sorry. Dark can fix your coat, so you don't need to worry about that, but I'm sorry they tore it in the first place. I'll never understand why people choose to hurt others. It'll take some time, probably, before you and Milo feel better with each other again."

Reaching for him, but in a way which made it clear if he did not want to be touched she wouldn't be upset, she continued, "How much older is the girl you like?"
 
"I'm not sure. I like her in the 'I just met her today in the hallway' kind of way, and it might be more, and I think she's awfully cute," Alec admitted. "It's strange. I think the older girl - her name's Claire - I think she's pretty. Like, really pretty. But the other girl - Emma - She's cute and adorable. She asked me out but assured me it's a low-pressure kind of meeting. She sometimes comes to our gigs at the pizza parlor, so she knows me more than I know her."
 
Alec smiled and closed his eyes. "Thanks, Mama. I needed all that." He took a deep breath and commented, "You smell nice. Are you getting ready for your friend's party?"
 
"I'm glad I was able to help," She replied, kissing the top of his head, "I am, yeah. Just need to wait for my hair to dry a bit more before making myself look nice. I have to leave a little bit before Baba comes home, are you okay watching Ivy in that time?"
 
Alec nodded. "Sure! Ivy and I get along very well, so I don't mind one bit. I hope you have a good time. I'll tell you that again before you leave, probably, but I do hope so! You deserve a lovely time out."
 
"I'm looking forward to it," Daizi admitted, letting him go, "It's been awhile since I last went out like this. Bachelorette Parties are always a good time, really. Thank you for keeping an eye on her for me, it should only be for a little while."

As they spoke, Dark came downstairs, carrying the little girl they were discussing, "I have to leave for Tristan's now, she's freshly changed." Giving a nod to Alec as he handed Ivy over, he asked, "Was school better today?"
 
"I hope so too. I am just going to bring home pizza for dinner tonight, okay? Text me what you want."

After saying goodbye to all three of them, and to Enkidu, Dark left for work with a joke about how Alec will have to remind Daizi to be safe amd make good choices, since he won't be there to. Then finally, he drove to Tristan's, greeting him formally and with his usual lack of warmth, but at least he was charming.
 
"I will," Alec promised. "I should go get started on my homework. I have some to catch up on." He paused and frowned. "And I need to tell Peter that the gig for tomorrow is off. And call the pizza parlor." He shook his head and looked at Ivy. "Never get into a fight. It's not worth it." Then he headed upstairs to take care of business.

~~

Three older women in their fifties and two later teen girls were in the shop when Dark came in. They were talking to Tristan, but all eyes swung to Dark when he entered. "We'll, uh, need just a minute to do a little more browsing," one of the older women told Tristan.

"Take all the time you need," Tristan assured them. He smiled at Dark. "Right on time, sir."
 
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