"Gimme some truth..."

[themiraclekid]

Who? Angela and Ainsley Ashwood
What? Sibling intervention
When? Wednesday after school
Where? Ashwood home

Ainsley had been terribly disappointed when Harry hadn't shown up to school today, or responded to his Facebook friend request. Maybe it was a silly thing to be upset about, but the teenage ego was a fragile thing, and it was hard not to ask himself if he'd done something wrong or somehow made Harry upset. What if he hated him? What if he'd actually decided that he didn't want to go to their school because he didn't like Ainsley and didn't want to be around him? He had spent the whole day going back over the two conversations they'd had and trying to figure out what he'd said or done to so upset Harry that he wouldn't come back to school or want to be friends on Facebook.

The only problem was, he couldn't think of anything, and by the time he got home, he was exhausted just from running his mind around in circles trying to figure it all out. Ange was home -- it was her day off -- and Ainsley walked into her office, not at all his happy go lucky self. She was on her computer, apparently doing something important, but Ainsley's first words were, "Hey, sis... Do you think you could do me a favor and ask Nick where Harry is? He didn't come to school today." He paused, thinking it over for a moment before he added. "And ask him if he hates me. I don't want him to hate me... I'm not even sure why he would, but if he does, I'd like to know."

Comments

[americanskin]

By that point, Nick had responded to her message on Facebook. "There, see? He's not feeling well," she said, pointing to the laptop screen and typing in a reply to Nick. She knew that one response wouldn't convince Ainsley. In fact, he would probably get the urge to go off on a tangent about how 'not feeling well' could mean anything and maybe it really was polite adult speak for 'my brother hates your brother, but I'm not going to tell you that'. "Tired's understandable, Ains. Moving to a new place, having strangers all around you, trying to get your head around everything, he probably is really tired. There must be a reason why he's come here too, which could be any number of things that is tiring him out."

She shrugged. "I don't know, Ains. I wasn't there. Do you think you overdid it? You're telling me he's kind of on the quiet side, so maybe it was a lot for him to take in. You have to remember you're just one small piece of his whole moving here, starting a new school, getting used to a new place things. However he is feeling, it's not all going to be because of you. I'm sure it would be nice for him to make friends, and I would wager a bet that he didn't come here not wanting to make any new friends at all. It just takes time for people to get to know each other. Give him a chance to find his feet in a way he needs to."

[themiraclekid]

At his sister’s explanation, Ainsley leaned in to look at the laptop screen, and he felt like his stomach dropped. The last thing he wanted was for poor Harry to be sick. The guy seemed to be having a hard enough time of it right now without being sick on top of it all. He frowned thoughtfully, worried about the other kid. “That doesn’t really help me feel any better,” he said, the worry written all over his face. “It just kind of makes me worry about him. He’s a really sweet guy. I hate that he’s sick. He’s probably having a hard enough time as it is adjusting to all this other stuff going on with moving here and stuff. He’s really close to Nick, so that will be good for him, but I know it’s hard for him to be away from the rest of his family and the beach. Florida’s a hell of a lot different than New York. And he didn’t live directly in the city when he lived in Florida, either.”

“I don’t know if I did or not. I wasn’t trying to overdo it or anything. He’s been through a lot, I’m sure. People don’t just pull up roots and leave a place they really love for no reason at all, and he said he loved Florida. Just needed a change. Which usually means something wasn’t working out.” Ainsley prided himself on trying to figure things like that out. “I hope that he gets settled in. I really like him, and I would really like to get to know him better.”

[americanskin]

"It means he doesn't hate you," Angela pointed out, because that was what she was trying to achieve here. She thought the chances that Nick's younger brother just hated Ainsley by default were slim to nothing. She pointed to the screen again. The conversation with Nick had progressed a little and Nick was fine filling her in a little more about his brother. "He has a stomach bug, and he's in good hands. There, look. He's a National title holder in ballet and ballroom dancing. He turned fifteen a month ago - whoa, he's a baby - and he's been taking a breather from Facebook, even though he has an account. See? He doesn't hate you, Ains. He's been puking, sleeping, and probably hasn't even seen your Facebook friends request."

She held her hand up to stop him so he didn't accidentally throw himself off the self-sacrificial metaphorical teenager bridge. When you were that age, some things could seem like a huge deal, and there was no doubt about the fact that one of the biggest and hardest things you could deal with when you were a teenager was crushing. "He might not have wanted to open up his whole life story to you after one day knowing him, buddy. Ease into it, don't worry. Making new friends is a tough gig sometimes, he probably just needs time to adjust."

[themiraclekid]

"Yeah, but it also means he's sick, and that sucks," Ainsley replied, though he was relieved to find that he hadn't somehow tripped into pissing Harry off without meaning to. In reality, the likelihood that something he had done had bothered Harry enough to make him hate him was very low, but Ainsley just really liked the other kid and didn't want to run the risk that he hated him without finding out for sure. He looked over Angela's shoulder, trying to follow along with the conversation. "There was a stomach thing going around. One of the guys in my history class was out with it yesterday. It's apparently pretty rough. I'm glad he doesn't hate me, though. That would seriously suck. I've only just met him."

"Well, I don't want him to feel like he has to tell me his whole life story the first couple times we've hung out. I just want to help him feel comfortable at his new school. And, of course I want to talk to him and get to know him better, too. But not just because I have a crush on him. I have lots of friends, and I can introduce him to people. It's hard coming into a new place. I just want to help you know?" He sighed, not knowing how to explain this. He hated the concept of crushes, but he definitely had a pretty huge one going here. "He's really sweet, Ange. I like him a lot."

[americanskin]

Nick had sent through another reply this time and Angela leaned over for Ainsley to see. "Look, photographic evidence that he's not dead. Poor kiddo doesn't look well, though. Which is exactly why you need to trust that he's in good hands with his big brother. Sometimes, big brothers and sisters know best," Angela told him very pointedly. "He's cute in glasses, though," she couldn't help but adding teasingly. She knew crushy behaviour when she saw it, and although she was a little concerned here that Ainsley might be trying to get in too deep, too quickly, it was healthy to have those sorts of feelings when you were young. It would all boil down to how Harry felt about it if things were reciprocated.

She nodded. "I do know, but you don't know him, Ains. You don't know yet what he needs or doesn't need. You don't know how he navigates making friends, or what he likes in friendships. You don't know why he's here. It could be any number of things. Just slow down a little for him. He's not feeling well, Nick's keeping him out of school until Monday so you won't see him between now and then. He's not on Facebook for now. Just chill a little and breathe."

[themiraclekid]

Ainsley leaned close to the monitor, grateful to see Harry, alive, but looking tired and like he was feeling pretty damn poorly. "I'm glad he's not dead," he confessed. "And I'm sure his brother can take really good care of him. You always take the best care of me when I'm sick and shit. And I don't really know Nick, but I hear he's a really great guy, so I'm sure he takes epic care of Harry when he's sick, too. He is cute in glasses, though," he had to agree. "Really fucking cute, actually. But he's cute in pretty much everything I've seen him in so far, and it's really kind of not even fair how hot and adorable he is all at the same time."

"I know that I don't know him, but I want to," Ainsley replied. And that much was very true. he did want to know Harry better. He remembered things like his favorite animal (dolphins) already, and that he loved the beach, and he did ballet and ballroom. But those were facts. He wanted to know more than just facts. "I'm chilled," Ainsley lied. "Totally chilled. At least, mostly. I just eventually want to get to know him better. That's all. I thought maybe I'd ask him out, but I won't do it in a text while he's home sick."

[americanskin]

"Cute and not feeling well, so are you going to get off the 'HE HATES ME' train now? He doesn't know you to hate you. Wait until he goes back to school or switches Facebook back on, but that's all you can do for now. I don't think he'll be randomly lying there thinking, wow, I feel like hell, I wish that dude I met two days ago was here holding my hair back for me," Angela said with a small shake of her head. "I've never seen you crush like this before. I can't decide if it's cute or terrifying."

She snorted in amusement. "You need a cold shower, Ains. I know you want way more than just getting to know him better. But he's young, and there's a chance he hasn't dated or slept with anyone or has even developed that much yet, so just hit that brake for now until you know more about him or you'll find yourself coming on strong before you realise you're doing it, and then you could well scare him away if he realises you're way more advanced in this stuff than he is. I know you're all channelling Clint and glad you're not a virgin anymore and like to throw that fact around, but if you do that with Harry, you might well turn him off and even friendship won't interest him."

[themiraclekid]

“Yeah, you’re right,” Ainsley agreed, though he didn’t sound fully convinced. There was really no reason that Harry could justifiably hate Ainsley that he could think of. He hadn’t done or said anything stupid that he could remember that would upset Harry. “If I was sick right now, I’d be wishing he was holding my hair back for me… except the whole thing where puking in front of someone is really freaking embarrassing. Nobody really wants to do that when they haven’t even gotten to the dating part.” He looked at his big sister giving his best attempt at a bitch please look that probably fell flat when he couldn’t stop laughing. “It’s not cute or terrifying. It’s just a thing.”

Still, he arched an eyebrow, not at all amused at that. “I don’t need a cold shower. I’m not about to dry hump him as soon as he gets back to school. And he’s 15. It’s not like that much younger than I am. I’m only 16. I don’t know about his dating history or anything, but if I asked him out, I wouldn’t be expecting for him to just hop into bed with me on the first date. I’m not a total slut, Ange. I like Harry. If I’m going to date someone, it’s gonna be a lot more special than just jumping into bed with someone. He’s sweet, and I do know he’s younger than me and we might not be on the same level with stuff like that. That’s okay with me. I don’t want to just get all up in his face all, ‘I’ve had sex! Have you?!’”

[americanskin]

Ainsley was all over the place right now and it was giving her a bit of a headache. One breath he was wishing Harry would be there if he was sick, and in the next, trying to point out he wasn't head-over already. "You haven't even really gotten to the friend part yet, Ains. Slow down. And I will keep saying that to you even if you're not listening to me. Slow down, or you'll get yourself hurt. He's adjusting to a whole new environment. You're going to be one friend of many he makes, and you're not automatically going to be the one he wants to date, if he dates, just because you decided you like him and have a crush on him."

She just gave him a Look at this, because she knew if it was socially acceptable to hump Harry as soon as he got to school, Ainsley would probably be doing it the way he was talking right now. "Just fifteen. Four weeks ago, he was fourteen," she pointed out. Now that she had spoken to Nick about this, she felt like she had a duty of care to him to make sure her little brother treated his right. Ainsley could be excitable and like a bull at a gate sometimes. If Harry was in any way the opposite to that, it could still feel like Ainsley was coming on too hard and too fast for his liking. Then he could have something to worry about. "Every conversation you have with him, every time you spend more time with him, it's going to flare up the crush even more. Respect what you don't know about him yet, not just what you do."

[themiraclekid]

"Okay," Ainsley said, as he settled into a chair, trying to calm himself a little bit. "I'm trying. I don't want to overwhelm him and freak him out and make him think I'm a weirdo freak. I know I go in like a bull at a gate sometimes. I don't mean to, but the next thing I know, I'm armpit deep in a fuck up, and trying to figure out how I got there. I don't want to do that with Harry. I mean... overwhelming him and freaking him out and shit. Pouring it on too thick. Do you think he wouldn't like me or want to date me?" he asked.

Ainsley gave Angela a Look of his own, because he was almost sure what his sister was thinking. The realization that Harry had only just turned 15 was an important one to make. Ainsley hadn't been 16 for that long, but 14 was really young, and it hadn't been long since Harry had been just that. "I've never crushed like this before," he admitted to his sister. "I mean, I've thought guys were hot before, obviously, but... This is different. I don't really know what to do about it. I want to spend time with him, but I don't want to develop some kind of scary uber crush that makes him not want to be around me because I'm overwhelming him or something."

[americanskin]

"Just don't take liberties, Ains. That's all I'm saying. You might want something, he might not. Or he might, and you might not be it. If you're going to fuck up, fuck up on someone who isn't Nick Matheson's little brother, but he's very protective and if you hurt his brother, you'll know it. If you're pouring it on too thick, you're trying too hard and that's never going to end well. Don't force anything. It would probably be the first way to turn him off. No nice guy wants to be taken advantage of, and I know, I know. You're not trying to take advantage, before you start arguing that point. But you are if you him too quickly into something he's not interested in," Angela insisted. The thing about going in like a bull at a gate was that it would be Ainsley who got hurt too, just as much as Harry if Harry didn't want, or wasn't ready, to act on Ainsley's crush.

She looked at him pointedly again. "How do you know it's different? You've got your heads in the clouds. You don't know him to know anything's different. I highly doubt it, but there is just as much chance he likes to sleep around as there is of him being a virgin. You don't know enough to know either way. You're filling in an awful lot of gaps for him before giving him the natural time to fill them in himself."