Distractions (Jack)

[Deleted]

It was a generally quiet afternoon in the dorms and Junpei thought he might take advantage of that while he could by sprawling his homework out on the table in the common room and working on his assignments there. He had no idea where his other roommates were, but if they were out, then all the better! Junpei wasn't quite sure yet what he thought of them, but all he knew was that one was particularly quiet and practically nonexistent, while the other one tended to be loud, obnoxious, and blast his music at all hours of the day and night. He only hoped that it would last until he got this paper done.

Though if he didn't, he would probably just suck it up and go to the library, but it was all the way over there, and Junpei didn't really want to make the trip.

On the other hand, he could always go and study in Yue's room, but then he would be distracted in completely different ways, especially considering her recent foot injury.

Junpei let out a sigh and twirled his pencil in through his fingers, wishing he could do something more for Yue. Yue, who was his...girl?...friend? Neither of them had said anything one way or the other about it, but after the retreat, it just kind of became natural for the two of them to start hanging out on a regular basis to the point that they could call it dating...but was it?

Man, this was confusing. They hadn't even held hands except for that one time in the infirmary or when it was required for Junpei to help her with walking. Not that he didn't want to hold her hand....and maybe a little more than that....

But kissing...was that Ok? For kids their age? Junpei hadn't even had his first. He wondered if Yue had ever had her first kiss? Would his be with Yue? Would it be all romantic? Could Junpei even work up the nerve to do it? What if she didn't want to or got offended because he wanted to or something?

Junpei held his head in his hands, spinning these thoughts around in circles over and over, not even realizing that he'd been sitting there for an hour already without having gotten a single thing done. Nor did he hear when the door to the dorm room opened suddenly, indicating that one of his roommates had finally returned.

[Jack McCarthy]

Jack hasn’t really had much exposure to his room mates, which was in his estimation was nothing but a good thing, he specifically requested a single dorm room, he didn’t need some asshole, bitching at him for not cleaning up after him, or barging in at all hours of the night.

…but so far it worked out ok, Jack was a busy guy, a man of action! He never got time to just hang out in his room. He only ever saw it in the middle of the morning or deep in the heart of the night. He didn’t have time to converse with his room mates, until now at least.

He wandered into the room wanting some Jack time back, so he was a little peeved when he saw that Junpei kid on the other bed. He gave him a customary nod of recognition before leaping on his own bed feeling the warm comfort of the blanket.

Jack took a deep breath to relax himself but at the corner of his eye he couldn’t help but see the junpei looking like he was in some kind of distress. It was actually quite distracting. Jack did his best to ignore the kid but his uncomfortable posture aroused his curiosity. With a roll of his eyes he leaned over to Junpei ‘Ok, I’ll bite, what’s with the look on your face? You on your period or something?’

[Deleted]

Junpei was hoping that he could actually get some work done before his roommate came back from wherever he had gone, but obviously, such a thing was not possible. Verily impossible, in fact. Especially considering how much out of his head Junpei was at that moment. Or had been for the past few days. As such, despite his attempts to distract his out-of-sort-ness with thoroughly burying himself in schoolwork, his work had actually been slipping in quality.

He really needed an English tutor, though Meian-sensei was apparently going to introduce him to someone who could help? Junpei hoped so.

Junpei continued staring off into space even after his roommate had noisily entered and addressed him so rudely. Junpei, however, only knew it was rude from the tone of voice. He honestly had very little idea of exactly what he was being made fun of over. After a moment or two, Junpei slowly turned his head to face Jack. "Eh?" His brows were furrowed in confusion. "I do not understand." Junpei's accent was thick and his speech stilted. "You are wanting to bite my face?" Because of how it looks? How did it look? Americans were weird. He wasn't even going to ask what the second part was about. Colloquial English and slang really was too hard for him to get.

[Jack McCarthy]

Eh? What did he mean he didn’t understand? It was perfectly reasonable question. Jack simply wanted to know if this young gentleman was looking like he got slapped in the head by a wet fish because he was saddened by his bloody vagina. That’s quite a simple concept right?

And then the kid hit jack with his question, which as you can imagine took Jack quite by surprise, this conversation has been going on for practically twenty seconds an d all ready this was taking quite a weird place, like super weird. Jack paused in the middie of lighting his cigarette but slowly turned to look Jumpi in the eyes, looking at him like he was crazy.

“ummmm…no….I’m all right for face biting…Ummm…Quick question; Are you just crazy? Or just have a weird biting fetish thing, like that Hannibal lector dude?” It Oh just typical! They just had to make Jack room mates with the guy with brain damage. But then something clicked in Jack’s brain as he arkwardly clicked his fingers at his new friend. “Oh? You can’t speak the lingo? That’s it yeah?” Jack learnt over and spoke in a deliberate growl as if he was trying to speak to a dog

“YOU”
Points at Jumpei

“NO”
Shakes his head

“SPEAKY-SPEAKY ENGLISH?”

Makes talking motions with his head before rolling his eyes. “Fuck man, you really didn’t think coming to this schoolthough did you?” With a resigned sigh Jack once again resumed talking to the poor guy like he was two.

“YOU-HAVE-PROBLEM?-“

[Deleted]

If Jack thought he was confused, then Junpei was probably about ten times more so. He didn't understand the question in the first place and had merely repeated how he had interpreted it in the hopes that this person might be a normal person and revise what he said into something simpler and more coherent.

Instead, the boy's words just got even more confusing. Especially at the speed that Jack was speaking, Junpei wasn't even sure he caught everything, just a word here and there; face biting, question, crazy, weird…. He had no idea what this guy was trying to get across, but Junpei did decide that he was probably one of those crazies he had heard about. But was he dangerous? Just his luck that he'd have a crazy for a roommate.

Junpei merely stared at Jack with a blank look at he went on his incredibly loud, and incredibly offensive, tirade. Of course Junpei spoke English, just not well enough to hear it going off at 100 words a second.

"Urusai na hito da na…" he mumbled to himself. He let out a harsh sigh and turned to make eye contact with his crazy roommate. "Temae wa hontou ookina-baka da yo ne?"

In other words, "You are very rude person," Junpei said with a slight furrow in his brow, clearly not pleased with being so obviously made fun of.

[Jack McCarthy]

If Jack may borrowing a phrase for the old movie classic “Cold hand Luke” It seems to Jack that there was clearly a failure of communication between himself and his new buddy from the far east known as Jumpei….and quite a sizable one at that.

Believe or not, Jack was trying to be a nice guy….well for him at least. He walked into his dorm room and bore witness that his dormmate seemed to be a little down in the dumps and from the goodness of his heart he did his level best to pretend to give a shit about anyone that wasn’t him…and what pray-tell did he get for his good Samaritan act? He was threatened with face mutilation and got yelled at in gibberish.

“Hey! I don’t speak in tongues dude. Here’s an idea; you’re in an American school. LEARN ENGLISH!”

Jack looked at Jumpei with a nonpluse expression , rude? Really? How exactly was he being rude. He wasn’t the one that started insulting him in his own language. Just because he could. Wait a second…..

“How I’m I rude? I’m trying to be nice and sympathetic…dick!” Jack fired back utterly insulted by Jumpei’s actions. “Ok, is that the way you want to play it? Well Póg mo thóin mother fucker” Jack said nodding his head enthusiastically as he began to spoke in his native tongue “Yeah. You didn’t see that coming did ya?Go hIfreann leat a shlíomadóir loaf agusGo n-ithe an cat thú is go n-ithe an diabhal an cat! Don’t try and out curse an Irish man! We invented that shit”

[Deleted]

Clearly this guy didn't take criticism well. Junpei might likely be one of the more polite people on campus, but he was also very direct and that had nothing to do with his language skills. If he saw something, heard something, or was involved in something that deserved question, then he would speak out about it without hesitation, sometimes naively or unintentionally hurtful, as in the case with Yue at the infirmary. Furthermore, considering his extreme naivete and being slow on the uptake in most social situations, for Junpei to realize right away that there was something disturbingly amiss, it had to be particularly evident.

And annoying.

Like Jack here.

There were reasons that Junpei avoided him, and all this encounter did was remind him of that.

"Baka na! America ni kitta'kara, mochiron mou eigo wo naratte'ru zo! Kimi wa reiki wo benkyou kaishi shita hou ga ii darou." Junpei didn't raise his voice, but was merely correcting the buffoon where he had erred, and given him the appropriate suggestion.

Logically, Junpei knew he wasn't helping the situation, but if Jack was going to speak in a manner unconducive to successful communication, then why shouldn't Junpei throw that right back at him? Though the way he kept going on and on, even in another language altogether that was obviously not english, Junpei reasoned that even if Junpei had explained the situation properly, the other boy still would have insulted him and made fun of him further.

Junpei sighed. Still, going about it this way was obviously getting them nowhere. He rolled his eyes, the pushover he was. "Kimi wa katsu...." he groaned out. Junpei blinked up at the raging boy. "I am sorry to upset. If you are calm, I will speak more proper. Please be patient, because I cannot speak well. Aho." That last word there was an impulsive afterthought. Still, Junpei smiled amiably at his roommate.

[Jack McCarthy]

No. Jack seriously did not enjoy criticism constructive or otherwise, and I’m sure that Jack would have been shocked and hurt by Junpei’s oh so harsh insults… except for the tiny-tiney but ever so crucial detail that Jack ha no earthly idea what the good Mr.Jumpei Hirai was jabbering on about!

As Jack listened bemused as Junpei spat strange and complicated sounds that formed equally strange and complicated words, it occurred to Jack that this entire debate was totally and utterly pointless. Jack had to question what exactly they were trying to achieve with this little debate. What was the point in having an argument with someone that had no earthly idea what you were saying? Didn’t that completely void the point of an argument?

“Yeah, dude. I CAN’T- UNDERSTAND-YOU. I honestly don’t know if I should be insulted or should I get some holy water and exorcise the demons from your body!” Jack said bemused rolling his eyes, struck with how stupid this whole situation was.

He didn’t even know why this started in the first place. All Jack wanted to do was ask why Junpei looked so down and before he knew it jumpei was attacking his character in some strange language. This is what happens when Jack tries to take an interest in the people around.

Then things took a surprising turn….

“Oh, so you do speak English?” Jack said bemused, he would ask what a “Aho” but really even with Jack’s limited knowledge of the Japanese he can make a reasonable estimation. “Ok…Whatta…whatta say we start over ok? Completely clean slate. We’ll try this again; You look upset. Why?”

[Deleted]

Actually, the more and more Junpei watched Jack work himself into a rage(with absolutely no help from the Japanese boy), the more and more amused he became. He didn't know if he'd ever met anyone who could blow up so badly all by themselves with nearly no provocation at all.

Junpei only caught a few words of his last rant, but after Junpei finally relented and decided to work with this guy a little more diplomatically, Jack actually surprised Junpei by responding somewhat…cooperatively. Maybe even nice, though his tone could still use some evaluation.

"Yes, I speak English," Junpei assured the previously raving lunatic. "But I do not speak well. I am still learning." Which was why idioms and clever metaphors were completely lost on him.

Junpei stared confusedly at Jack as he posed his question in a much more understandable manner. And it was then that Junpei realized that in his little "argument", if it could be called that, with Jack, Junpei had completely forgotten that there was anything wrong and had to think for a moment to retrieve his train of thought. Though when he finally remembered, Junpei's face tinted a slight pink. "I was thinking about my girlfriend." Jack might have seen her before, coming and going from their dorm to visit the asian boy. Then Junpei considered, still thought it was a bad idea, and yet decided to ask anyway because, who knew? Jack might actually be able to give some good advice. And it wasn't like he had many people to ask. "How…how do Americans change from not-kissing to kissing your girlfriend?" His face became more red, because Junpei knew exactly how awkward that sounded. And he felt a bit(or a lot) stupid for even asking in the first place.

[Jack McCarthy]

Ok, so now they were getting places, speaking the same language, establishing a line of communication. Finally we can make such much needed progress. The build-up of this was probably wasn’t going to be worth it away, Junpei was probably pining about his home, or some wimpy shit like that.

Jack was just about to say to forget about the whole thing, when Junpei revealed his problem! A-ha! Now things were certainly getting interesting….

“OH!” Jack said started to get excited as this was a subject he was most comfortable with “So you needed to get advice from a more experienced lover, Right? Well take a seat under the learning tree.

Jack gestures to the empty space beside him before continuing. “Ahh, the ladies, they are a mystery aren’t they? My dad used to say that trying to get in the mind of a woman is like riding a tractor.” Jack paused “…I have no idea what that means…I think he was drunk when he said it. Anyway; I recommend getting good at something. Theirs is nothing sexier to a lady face then a man with talent. (Trust me, I’m speaking from experience) Maybe your just really really fat? Think about exercising, the more weight you lose the more attractive you are to the opposite sex. Booze. Did I mention booze? No? Ok, ignore the first two bits of advice and think about getting her really drunk.

[Deleted]

Jack's way of speaking was very confusing for Junpei, he wasn't sure he understood more than half of it. But after listening to his prattle for more than a few minutes, Junpei thought he was starting to get a handle on it. This boy liked to exaggerate and use metaphors. He liked to speak loudly and fast. The fast paced cadence was what bugged Junpei the most, didn't this guy know how to slow down? Or breath?

Still, Jack seemed willing to offer some good ol' American advice, so Junpei tuned his ears into Jack's frequency and listened as closely and carefully as he could.

Most of what Jack said was obviously nonsense, so it was hard to tell when he was actually get to the part of his rant that had the advice in it.

Get good at something? Well, that made sense. And Junpei wasn't really good at anything, at least nothing he could be particularly proud of. So he should do something to improve himself and impress her, right?

Wait…fat? Was Junpei really fat? He didn't think so but…maybe he had gained some weight since he came to America, eating pretty much nothing but takeout everyday.

Wait….booze? What was….oh, drunk? Alcohol?

"You are meaning to make romance with wine, yes?" Junpei was thinking about how in movies people would make things more romantic with a bottle of wine and a nice dinner. But he didn't know where to get alcohol. "In America, I need to be 21 years to buy and drink alcohol. I do not think I can do this easy." If this were Japan, it'd be easier, they didn't have an age limit on alcohol purchases, just consumption.

[Jack McCarthy]

It was nice to see a conversation that started utterly horrible and confrontation, end up being quite pleasant. Usually it was the other way around. Jack usually meets someone who SEEMS cool but turns out to be a massive asshole.

Despite appearances, Jumpi didn’t seem like a massive asshole. Jack had hard feelings for his random outburst, he was just a young man who was young, confused, and naïve. Maybe Jack could mentor him? He had always wanted an understudy,, someone he could mould and give his vast knowledge of, to become…well not as cool as Jack…but still pretty damn cool. “Oh yeah, Wine makes romance a lot, Sure you’re not exactly a heart breaker. But I say just pour a few beers down her throat and she’ll be good to go!” Jack was appalled when he heard that Junpei thought he needed a ID…oh, Jun…the things Jack had to show you.

Without another word, Jack reached under his bed and pulled out a six pack of beer and tossed it to Junpei “I always, keep a spare set on me” Jack clasped Junpei on his shoulder “Ok, now after you got done with the making out and such, you need advice on how to do awesome stuff in the bedroom. I’m assuming you do want to sample the goods right? Well just between me and you I’m going to share my ultimate secret to rocking her world”

Jack paused as he looked over his shoulder to make sure no one was listening before continuing. “Two words; Candy mints. You pop a couple of them bad boys in your mouth, go down on her lady parts like this” Jack paused to shake his tongue back and forward in front of him “Just like that and she’s going to feel like her lady parts are on fire! Hold on…” Jack suddenly reached into his pocket and handed Jun a few mints, before closing his fist and fatherly patted the hand “I always have a few on me. In case I need to perform. There you go, that’s for you. Something tells me that young woman is going to have a good time tonight

[Deleted]

Good for Jack, he realized that Junpei wasn't an asshole. In fact, Junpei was probably the farthest thing from an asshole, he was probably one of the only people who wasn't an asshole himself who would give an asshole like Jack the benefit of the doubt and genuinely, innocently listen to his advice.

Already Junpei was wondering how he could enact some of these plans. So American girls liked to drink and giving them drink would impress them enough for a kiss…..this sounded iffy, but Junpei still didn't know much about girls, much less American girls.

Heart breaker? What was that?

Junpei caught the 6-pack a little clumsily and stared down at it like it was a bomb. Wasn't this against the rules? But then again, if it was, then wouldn't Jack have gotten in trouble for it already? It must be ok, then.

Sample the goods? What was he…..OH.

Junpei was suddenly all ears when this topic came up. Junpei may have been a polite, friendly gentleman, but he was also, as his anatomy dictated, a boy who was raging with hormones. With all his good intentions, he could hardly think clean thoughts for more than 3 seconds, especially when they were about his girlfriend who was quite easily the most adorable thing at this school.

He leaned in, focused on trying to hear and absorb everything Jack was telling him. Candy mints? Lady….ohhhh…..but how would that…? Junpei looked down at the mints that Jack placed in his hand. Junpei looked back up at Jack with eager eyes. He was only looking for advice on how to initiate a kiss and now….now Junpei was thinking that he might even get lucky and take it to entirely to the next level. He'd never even seen Yue naked before and now….he was optimistic that it could happen. His smile was blindingly bright in his excitement. "Thank you. I think first you are very rude person but now I think you are very helpful. Thank you very much!"