I Maked You This and Didn't Eatted It. [Jesse]

While Mia was perplexingly nice and Lyra was just enough like him that they got along, it was with Jesse that Clement was the most comfortable because it was a relationship dynamic he was not only familiar with, but had embraced: hyung to dongsaeng (or older male to younger). Of course, Jesse wasn't Korean and they weren't close enough for Clement to consider him a hyung, but the base of what they had was similar enough that Clement felt more at ease with the blond than he did with anyone else. And Ty helped. Clement had never had a pet or felt any special affection for the animals owned by the Lee's neighbors, so why he was so magnetized by Jesse's rabbit was a mystery to him. The single visible object in his dorm room that was not either homework related or original furnishing was a small cardboard box with Ty-sized holes filled with shredded paper for the bunny to dig and play in when he visited. Ty could get paper all over his floor and Clement didn't care. He swept it all up and put fresh shreds in the box. They were his graded assignments (most of which had Cs, a fact that would shock all of his old teachers), and Clement enjoyed watching Ty mess them up.

When Jesse answered his door, Clement was so pleased to see him after five days of moronic cabinmates that a ghost of a smile flashed over his face, blink fast. "Oh. Hey, Clement. How was it? Anyone get eaten by a bear?"

"Hey." On the bear food question, he frowned and sighed, disappointed that his answer was, "No."

Since he was fresh off the bus, Clement still smelled a little like lake water, dirt, and plant life. There was a bit of darkness under his eyes from the odd sleep pattern he'd had to adopt, but otherwise the week away had done him good. Figuring to get it over with (besides, they were already two days old, though the kitchen people had said they'd keep), he held out the two plastic-wrapped squares.

"They're s'mores. The camp kitchen people helped me. They should be fine. Just. Cold."

The waxed paper under the plastic should've kept everything contained and wouldn't stick to the melted marshmallow, but he wouldn't know till Jesse opened them. Clement's face was apologetic but held a measure of hope that maybe it would be okay.

It wasn't that Clement was keeping who he'd fought with a secret, but Jesse had never asked and Clement figured most people interested in that sort of thing knew the details by now. Now that his injuries were healed, for the most part, his punishment was over, and life had resumed, the only real residual left was how Clement tended to notice when he was in the presence of tall blond males. Or well, tall to him, which was anything over 5'4". If Jesse had asked, Clement would've told him, but only if he didn't also know why he wanted to know. It wasn't that he wanted to save the blond the trouble or was worried about what would happen, but because Clement still didn't understand that what Xavier had done to him was wrong. They'd gotten in trouble because fighting was against school rules (and they'd been caught). But Clement had stolen something of another kid's, and he'd gotten what he deserved. There was no reason to be upset about it, and no reason in Clement's mind for Jesse to feel the need for any avenging.

Black bears were native to both New Hampshire and Vermont, but Clement hadn't seen any, not that he'd been looking. Still... "Maybe next year."

“S’mores. Really, Clement?”

Did Jesse not like them? His face reflected his uncertainty. "...Yes?"

“What’d you do that for, kid? You’re supposed to inhale these at camp, not bring them home.”

"I had enough of them. They're... really sweet." For a kid with as narrow a food repertoire as Clement, who was also largely indifferent to candy, s'mores had held a limited appeal. Some of the other kids could eat three or four a night, but after having two his first night, Clement hadn't cared for too many more. But since the other kids had liked them so much, he thought maybe it would be something he could bring back. He still wasn't sure he'd done the right thing, but Jesse wasn't objecting.

“...Look, just bring them in and we’ll split ‘em. Ty missed you, anyway.”

"I don't want any more. They're for you, 'less you don't want 'em." Clement shrugged and entered the room, handing over the two wrapped bundles to the older boy. He knelt when Ty hopped over, holding out his fingers for the bunny to sniff. Clement's face relaxed, though he didn't quite smile when Tyrone stood up on his back legs to nose into his shirt and smell his jeans.

"I missed Ty too," he said. "They said there were rabbits out in the woods, but I didn't see any."

Which had more to do with his terrible eyesight than a lack of rabbits at camp. As he petted Ty, he asked, "So what'd you do all week?"

If Clement had thought about it, which he hadn't, he would have realized a long time ago why he'd made such quick friends with Minho, and why their friendship had become close so easily and so fast when he'd failed to create any sort of bond outside of the nebulous one he shared with his father. Minho offered the sort of relationship Clement had been craving his entire life, a familial link to an older male, and by virtue of his race, language, and culture was nothing like the other men in Clement's life who had been so detrimental. It was a measure of how out of his depth Clement felt in Vermont that he had so readily accustomed himself to being around and talking with Jesse, who was otherwise exactly the sort of person he avoided, especially when he was so (generally) physically similar to Xavier. Which was to say, if Jesse was confused by his growing attachment to Clement, the feeling was mutual, if not dwelt upon as often. Had he known the older boy had been worried about him, he would've been puzzled. He wasn't a baby or anything, and occasional poor decision-making aside he could take care of himself.

Shrugging at the mention of teeth rotting, he just said, "Too much for me."

He'd had a total of four, and even now he thought it was too soon for more chocolate. Clement's tastes ran more to salty/spicy and he didn't have much of an appetite either way. Ninety percent of the time there was food left on his tray at meals, and he still wasn't used to getting three a day.

“Still, you were supposed to be having fun, not thinking about me.”

That got a raised eyebrow as Clement sat down to let Ty hop into his lap. "You think I spent the whole time just thinking of you? Hoel*. I made Ajima and Minho these things out of leaves, so if I was sending them something I thought I might as well bring you back something too."

He'd made both of them bookmarks with patterns of tiny leaves and flowers he'd found in the woods and had sent them with his weekly letter, but that sort of thing didn't seem right for Jesse. He didn't know the older boy well enough to know what sort of thing he'd like, so he wanted something he could easily get rid of if he didn't like it. Sure, he could toss a bookmark into a drawer or throw it away, but he might feel bad for not using it even if he didn't have a use for it. A s'more was, though Clement didn't know the word, ephemeral. Meant to be temporary. And if Jesse didn't like them, there was no harm done and they could be thrown away without guilt.

But he seemed to like them, so that was good. "'Least you had the place to yourself, mostly." Clement didn't know if that would be cool or creepy. "How's your dog?"

“Did you at least have fun?”

"I... guess? It wasn't school." He was still convinced that fun was back in California with Minho, but he was also coming to terms with the fact he was going to be stuck in Vermont till he graduated high school, which, at this rate, was six years down the line. Clement didn't think Hammel would let him go early if he gained control of his power faster than that, but... he also belonged to the State of Vermont now, and had no way to get back to Los Angeles. And the Lees could never take him in, they couldn't afford it, and he wouldn't even ask it of them. Clement sighed a little and rubbed Tyrone's cheeks the way he liked.

"I went in the lake. It was cold. And I went in a canoe. And I did some hikes." Clement didn't own swim trunks, so he'd gone into the lake in jeans and a shirt. He didn't think anyone wanted to see how skinny and pale he was, or how his ribs still stuck out. Someone got after him for going in in his clothes, but when he'd said why he'd done it they'd left him alone and told him to change before he went inside anywhere.

"And now I'm really glad everyone has their own room. I barely slept. Fuckers."

*hoel - an expression of mild surprise/shock, translates loosely to 'what the...', but used mostly in situations American kids would say 'oh my god'

Clement's relationship with his father was complex, for all it barely existed. Clement knew the man had not been aware of even a fifth of what had gone on in the trailer in his absence. It was hard to blame him for not stopping things he hadn't known about, but on a deeper level that Clement didn't often acknowledge, he knew if his Dad had... he didn't know, involved himself, looked harder, he could've stopped a lot of it. Cared more? Just thinking that Made Clement shiver and push it away. And there was the idea that Justin Evans had known what was going on and just... let it. This didn't get a lot of consideration, since the few times early on when Clement's dad had found out about things like Dave marking up his legs, he'd gone into the confrontation swinging. Clement hadn't spent much time with his dad, but he'd known for the bits he did he didn't want the man resenting or hating him. Frustration stemming from this relationship more than any other colored Clement's relations with other adults, and would well into the future.

Not knowing what to say to Jesse's comment, Clement just shrugged and kept petting Ty. Most kids were big on candy and soda and all that. He wasn't. He didn't know why. So far his favorite sweet thing was Ajima's songpyeon, the ones filled with a mix of brown sugar and ground up sesame seeds. Even then he could only eat two or three though. This would be the first Chuseok since he was six that he wouldn't have any. It was a weird thought to have. Clement found himself missing the Lees at very odd times. he shook his head and ran his hand over Ty's back.

To the thanks, he shrugged again and said, "'S okay. It was something to do, looking for something to bring you back. There's... not a lot to do out in the woods."

Ty explored Clement's lap, and Clement brought one of his toys over for him to play with. His jeans were dirty, nothing overt, but they carried a lot of new smells for the little bunny to rub his nose in.

Listening to Jesse's week, he said, "I think I'll stay back next year. That sounds... pretty good." And then, "'Course he was happy to see you. Dogs're smart like that." Clement didn't know how Tyrone would react, but he didn't seem overly affectionate now seeing Clement for the first time in almost a week, not that Clement cared. He just liked seeing Ty. And Jesse.

The remark about water surprised him. Jesse didn't look like a swimming or boating type of guy... though Clement didn't know what those things would look like. "I only went to the beach once in Cali. For school." And he had a bit of sand and a few shells in a tiny jar in his room from that time. At the time he'd thought it was stupid, but now he was glad he had it. Minho had made him, saying if they took part of the beach with them they wouldn't have to feel bad about not going. The jars had each been filled with some seawater, and now when Clement opened it he could smell California.

"They were dirty and smelly and made dumb jokes and said rude things and were loud. And they never fucking slept." That last had been the worst part. Once lights out was called, it was like at least two of them were awake at any given time and had to make as much noise as humanly possible.

“But... you were okay, right? No one hurt you?”

That got a surprised look. Clement had picked up Ty very gently to see the bunny's face better, but the question made him put him back down. "Hurt me? No." An eyebrow raised. "Why, did you hear someone wanted to?"

Clement's relationship with his father also had a two-faced aspect, but it was one that Clement was not aware of. Justin Evans had had at least three part-time jobs at any given time, but none of his employers in the last eight years had known he had a son. There was no photo of Clement in his wallet, no mention of him during conversation. The reason was not due to shame, though in later years he'd felt plenty bad about it, though not enough to change his habit. Almost all of his employers tried to give priority for time off during the holidays to those with children, and in the first years of their life together, Justin had found himself unscheduled on days he'd asked to work to receive time-and-a-half. Spending Christmas Day or Thanksgiving with his son had not been unpleasant, but as a man who had long cut his ties with his family, holidays held very little meaning and the resentment over how much he could've been earning colored their time together. The solution was brutal, simple, and pragmatic.

"Maybe." There had been much more to do than Clement had participated in, but his lack of interest had to do with how little he could see. Just being in a new environment had been something though, and other than having to be in the cabin "sleeping" he'd had a decent time. Not... fun, exactly, but something very different. "To do like what?"

Jesse's smile said that however smart or not smart Gambit was, it had been a good time. Clement just raised an eyebrow back at him but didn't say anything. Jesse didn't seem the type to suffer a truly idiotic dog (or a truly idiotic anything), but if he wanted Clement to think Gambit was an anvil with fur, that was his business.

"Just once," he affirmed. "Ajima didn't like going." Minho had gone later a few times with some of his Korean friends, but Clement had not been invited and had not begrudged his brother his fun. Back then he hadn't owned any swim trunks either, or anything that would've been useful for playing in the sand. He didn't see the appeal of it, really.

"I've never been in a pool. Can you go in it in jeans?" Pools had stuff in them that made them smell, Clement didn't know if it would do anything to his pants. He rolled Ty's toys around, watching the bunny hop after it. Ty couldn't fetch, but he chased after things that moved. But Clement was still more interesting than his toys, and Ty came back over to wiggle under Clement's hand for more petting. Clement obliged.

Clement almost said something about how he'd known Jesse couldn't go, and then ask why that was, but... no. He wasn't going there.

The idea that someone had it in for him was not a new one, but at Hammel Clement couldn't guess as easily who that might be. Some of Xavier's friends had given him the evil eye in the weeks following the fight, and he'd had a few run ins with some of the older boys, but nothing serious. But his face cleared of suspicion when Jesse clarified.

Clement snorted. "That wasn't a mess. I wasn't even in the hospital anymore." Then he reconsidered and said, "Okay, it was kind of a mess. But it won't happen again. That way, anyway. We're not supposed to be around each other."

Just because Xavier was off-limits didn't mean Clement couldn't run afoul of Hammel's other pie-row-kin-etics. Not that he was trying, but still.

Exactly how Clement's father had cared about him was up for debate, considering the end results, but Clement believed he loved his dad and that his dad had loved him in return and was not wholly incorrect in either assumption.

Frowning as Jesse listed off 'fun' stuff to do out in the woods, he said, "...Panty raid? What is... you mean you... like... touch girls' underwear?" Clement's revolted expression said what he thought of that. "That isn't fun, that's... that's disgusting."

Running his fingers down Ty's fluffy back, he added, "And why would I want to drink?"

That first day had been an anomaly, Clement still didn't really understand why he'd drunk then and didn't care to. But he did understand it wasn't going to happen again. Drinking held no appeal, no allure, not even as something to do that was forbidden. It gave him the same feeling as the idea of touching some strange girl's underpants.

He frowned again when Jesse said he couldn't use the pool in his jeans. "No. I went in the lake in my clothes." Looking over at Jesse, he squinted at the older boy and didn't think they'd fit into the same size bottoms, no matter how much the waist could be taken in. He didn't say that though. He just petted Ty around the ears and said, "Pools stink anyway."

Clement gave Jesse his version of amused, which was a neutral expression with raised eyebrows. Thus far the blond had not seen Clement in a state he would consider a 'big mess', though Clement though it was just a matter of time. Not that he was planning on a mess happening, but given his personality, his location, his history, and life, it was inevitable.

"So will you not be bored now that everyone's back?"