Act 1, Scene 1

[firstgreenisgold]

« Who: a surly teenager (John Doe) and you
« What: May catch-all
« Where: Numbers's house, Arthur's house, 'school', the neighborhood
« Content Warnings: cosmic horror probably discussed, body horror probably discussed, lots and lots and lots of cursing; if you wish to encounter him specifically with Arthur in another place, feel free to hit us here.

Closed to Grady - Numbers Residence

The first sound from John's new human throat is a scream. He'd started it before he had a body and then once he does, once he has, he can feel the strain of it on said throat, the roughness, and with it the prickling realization of skin, of weight, of gravity and balance and it's all so much, so fucking much, it'll take him a few moments to focus, to figure out where and what and there's no way in fuck he'll get to 'how' but at least he figures out how to breathe after a coughing fit.

Coughing fits suck.

He'll push himself off of the bed, stand on wobbly legs, and when he finds a mirror, there's another scream, this one with words:

"What the fuck?"

If Grady is home, that might be it, but if he isn't, John's going to try and investigate this new location, this new place, a sinking guilt in his gut as he sees pictures of 'himself' with someone, an older man, in a life that he doesn't seem to be able to access for some reason even a little. He has no idea where he is or why he's here but he's going to see what he can find here...

A New Home - Numbers Residence [open]
...guess what? If you come to visit Mr. Numbers, there's a chance (after school hours, of course) that you'll actually get a surly teenager to come to the door. His greeting of choice is a glare and a what like you just interrupted him doing something.

You may have. There's really no telling.

Home is Home - Lester Residence [open]
There's an even greater chance, a few days after his arrival, that you will find him in Arthur Lester's home during his non-school times, nearly always answering the door and definitely cleaning up the place, given the state it's been in since Arthur's 'wife' disappeared.

School's In For Spring [open]
John has to go to school. John has never gone to school before. John has never been something in a world that had schools like this, which is why he hates this by default even if it's been stressed to him that he has to do as he's told (ugh fuck that), go to his classes (...okay, that's interesting at least), eat the school food (... it's not as good as food he's had everywhere else including what he figured out for himself), behave himself (he is), and not just spend all day at the library (why? he's supposed to learn here! he can learn much faster on his own!) before taking the bus back.

...he hates the bus. Immediately. First thing he's going to have to figure out is how to get a bike.

Won't You Be My Neighbor [open]
You might see him on errands by himself or walking with Arthur any where you might expect either of them to be. Either way, feel free to say hello.

And don't be surprised at the foul mouth.

Comments

[firstgreenisgold]

He'll take it and he'll read it before he grumbles in obvious irritation. Then he's writing back.

I didn't know that. He didn't tell me about you either. And I showed up a couple of days ago. Apparently the pictures changed to show me in them now.

There's an obvious pause before he writes a little lower.

Sorry about the chair. Everyone said this place is trying to fuck with us. And you're huge.

And sliding back.

[wwrench]

Until the last sentence, Wrench is almost starting to feel guilty. Then he reads that last line, and he doesn't bother to hide the derisive snort. It's not the first time someone's taken a run at him for exactly that reason, but it's happened less and less since he's grown out of high school. The kid's words remind him of the boys who thought they'd make themselves tough by picking on the tallest guy they could find in the courtyard. It's been a long time since that's the worst that Wrench has had to worry about, but the boy's sentence immediately brings it back.

Same thing at my place. I had a "wife." She woke up here, same as me. Pictures of us both on the mantle. But she left somehow, and the pictures erased her.

I'm Wrench. Your name Arthur?

[firstgreenisgold]

John's answer is an eyeroll. He is fucking small compared to what he's used to. And in a threatening situation, he has 'the element of surprise' and little else. He's not going to feel bad for making sure he doesn't die, asshole.

But the transformation in John is immediate as he reads the name 'Arthur'.

Scribbling intensely-

John. My name is John. Arthur is

He looks almost pained as he tries to come up with a word, a phrase, something that works. There's one word, but he's not sure, after everything, if he's allowed to use it. He swallows as he carefully writes out-

my partner.

[wwrench]

It would be quite possibly the greatest understatement in the history of all understatements to say that Wrench isn't fond of the police. But right now he's looking at this kid -- John -- like he might need some intervention from the local force.

Wrench takes back the pen and circles that last word a few times curiously. It's certainly not an unfamiliar word, and he's quite intimately acquainted with the various nuances it contains. He might've told Teddy that Numbers was his partner when the two of them first met as well. There's no meaning here that can possibly make sense, or explain why John and Arthur's handwriting is a dead match for one another.

So you knew each other before you came here, too. You write just like him. He buy you off some warden or something?

[firstgreenisgold]

John has no idea what that look is for, or why it's being directed at him. But he's going to frown at the way the pen circles it for his own anxious reasons before he takes them back to answer.

I used to have his left arm up to the elbow. And I did most of the driving.

He didn't buy me. The book I was trapped in was sent to his office. When he opened it up, I took his eyes. I got the arm later.

Okay hmm. After a moment, he'll add-

I wasn't human before this place. I didn't have a body of my own.

Another moment before he adds-

I'm a lot fucking older than fifteen or whatever this place made me.

And the notebook will be handed back, after he underlines 'a lot fucking older'.

[wwrench]

Not too very long ago, Wrench woke up in the 1960s. Not only that, but in a home next to a person intended to be his wife, surrounded by pictures of the two of them in moments he never even lived. Not too long ago, Wrench's own partner was dead. Now he's standing in the kitchen of a house that's said to belong to Numbers, and the photographs on the wall have transformed to pictures of the man he's known all his life alongside this child he's only just been punched in the nuts by...

This still manages to be one of the strangest things Wrench has ever been told.

So you're an alien parasite who commandeered his basic motor function. You're the reason he's blind. And he lets you call yourself his "partner?"

[firstgreenisgold]

Yeah, Arthur's said his piece and as the actual blind guy, John is going to give a shit about his opinion more than rando dude who kicked him in the stomach.

I'm not an alien. Or a parasite. He hates that fucking word. What I am would literally make your brain fizzle out of your ears if you attempted to fully understand it. Even beyond that, you don't know shit about us or what we've been through and if Arthur didn't tell you, I sure as hell won't.

And it's bullshit that he's blind. I'm not in his eyes. They should work now. I don't know why they don't. It's probably something to do with this place.

[wwrench]

Maybe you used them all up. They only had so much juice, and you wasted it before he could get his turn back. His arm seems to work.

Wrench can't quite hide the smirk as he writes that retort. He might be risking the kid's anger, but if the boy actually had the capability to do any of the things he's threatening, Wrench imagines he might've already proven it. There are others here who have claimed to have abilities, and none of them seem to have them any more. So maybe it's just the town taking things at random.

If that's the case, Wrench wonders if he shouldn't be glad that he didn't have anything valuable enough for them to snag. This town, strangely enough, has given more to him than it's taken from him.

Got the attitude of a teenager, don't you? So who trapped you in the book in the first place?

[firstgreenisgold]

Eye. roll.

That isn't how it works. At all.

And he didn't have powers, not since he'd been inside of Arthur. It's a level of cosmic understanding that humanity wasn't built to be able to handle. SAN damage. He pauses before he adds-

I'm not saying anything until Arthur gives the okay. I told you enough.

[wwrench]

Suddenly you're an expert in how things work around here? Great. We've been waiting for one of those to arrive.

It's almost criminal that Wrench can't convey more of his tone through writing alone, but John only needs to look at the mocking expression on his face as he pens those words to get a sense of what the tall man is really thinking. By the time he gets around to replying to the last statement, he's practically ready to beat his head against the kitchen countertop.

That's fine.
You better figure out how to fix that chair before your dad gets home.

[firstgreenisgold]

The second he gets the notebook back, he's scribbling his reply.

I didn't SAY that. Stop being an asshole.

And if 'dad' didn't want his fucking furniture ruined, he should have told me that he has a giant coming by every once in a while to be a dickhead to me. He can fix it himself.

I've already been cleaning all the parts of the house he let get disgusting. Fuck that.

[wwrench]

You punched me in the fucking crotch. I'm going to be an asshole for a while, if it's all the same to you.

Funny thing is, beyond all the eye rolling and the heavy sighs, there might actually be a hint of a smile trying to peek through Wrench's expression. He is an asshole. In fact, he's downright bitchy at times. There aren't many people who know that, outside of Numbers. It's not as though the man has had opportunity to carry on too many conversations. Grousing at this parasite in a teenager's body is hardly the most meaningful discussion he's had since arriving, but it's just low-stakes enough to impart a bit of levity onto this otherwise-incomprehensible situation.

I come by a lot. Now you know. Trust you won't attack me next time.

[firstgreenisgold]

Most of my existence has been things attacking me. I didn't want to die.

Now that I know you're not here to kill me, I'm not going to attack you. I'm not stupid.

A moment before-

And you kicked me in the stomach when you're twice my fucking size. Didn't feel great either!

[wwrench]

I only kicked you in the stomach after you hit me with a chair.

Wrench underlines the whole sentence, like it's the final word on the matter. He can't pretend he doesn't understand the impulse, though. He's lived a lot of his life watching his own back and assuming that everyone's out to harm him. The kid did what he needed to protect himself, and that will undoubtedly bode well for him here in Sweetwater.

Otherwise, Wrench wouldn't be too keen on the idea of Numbers sharing a home with someone likely to get him killed.

Hungry? He writes the single word on the next line before abandoning the notebook and pen in favor of whatever might be left in the refrigerator.

[firstgreenisgold]

Teen. age. eyeroll. He doesn't even know it's a teenager thing, but he's definitely giving a very teenage boy eyeroll.

They're not going to get anywhere arguing about who hit who (John is very firm that you came into his house so fuck you, he was defending himself) and there's a much more important thing to worry about.

Yes. Did you bring food?