Unintentional Rule-Breaking (Jackson)

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Cold weather meant that Rue's trips to the local tea shop increased tenfold.  Sure, he could make his own tea in the comfort of his own home with his two cats, Sinbad and Andromeda, but even though the quiet introvert preferred being alone over not most of the time, even he liked to get out and have some human interaction as he ordered his steaming green tea.  The tall man smiled and thanked the person behind the counter as she handed the drink over, and went to go sit at the small bar table they had set up off to the side of the room.

His aura, the mostly green kermode bear, sauntered after him, and Rue spent some time watching it before looking around to watch the auras of the other people in the room.  A blue eagle perched on one person's shoulder (it was still weird to Rue that the person had no idea); a pink-speckled leopard prowled around the legs of another.   And then, barely visible on a man's shoulder, a red spider crawled around.  Rue shivered slightly and turned back to his tea, realizing he hadn't noticed someone else sit down at the bar.  Feeling conversational, he smiled at them and gave a small nod.  "It's a nice day for tea, isn't it?" he asked, motioning outside to the dreary, blustery weather.  "I'm glad I don't have to be out in that weather for any reason."

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Jackson shivered as he took the warm cup of black tea in-between both hands, and he sent a nod of thanks to the attendant. He held it close, letting the rising steam touch his face, and breathed it in blissfully as he slowly stepped across the room to an empty seat at the bar-table. Jackson disliked the cold, hence why he braved the elements all the way out here for some very good, well-deserved tea. His intention was to warm up first, maybe buy another(he was going to be broke before the week even began, wasn’t he?), and then start the short trip back to the dorms before his newfound warmth was lost to the cold.

Once settled, Jackson sipped the tea and very nearly melted in his chair. Ohh, that was sweet. This was going to make him sick if he wasn’t careful. Jackson started spacing out as he tried to do the mental calculation for how much medicine he’d need for this treat, but was interrupted when his neighbor initiated some easy conversation. Jackson tilted his head as he turned it towards the other boy and smiled gently. “Yeah,” he said with a small laugh. “I’m sorta dreading the trip home, though. It almost seems like a waste to come all this way, just to go back out in that.” He jerked his head to the window. Jackson paused a moment, then smiled again to the stranger. “I’m Jackson. Sup?” he greeted with a slight raise of the chin.

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Rue tried to gauge how old the other boy was. Eighteen, nineteen? Old enough for Rue to find himself thinking his features were aesthetically pleasing, at least. He had never been a good judge of age, so he let it slide. Well, the age bit at least - not the thinking he was good-looking bit.

Shut up, he chided his internal thoughts, taking a deep, quiet breath to calm his mind from the unexpected sharpness invading. He's probably not even gay.

Distracted slightly, Rue's smile widened automatically as the other guy replied. "Ah, you have to walk home? That's rough." His expression turned sympathetic as he thought about the heating in his well-insulated car. "The tea here is awfully good though," he mused. "I could have made my own at home, but I thought it might be good to get out and do at least a little socializing for once." And you are my chosen target, apparently, he added internally with a small chuckle. "Rue," he replied at the introduction, responding to Jackson's nod with an offered handshake. "And... Not much. Just wondering how much luck and charm I'm going to need to get your number."

Wait.... What?

.... Whoops.

Rue sipped at his tea and looked down at the table, feeling his cheeks heat up. Apparently a lack of interacting with viable partners made one blab the first flirtatious thing that came to mind.

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Jackson was usually a friendly guy, even to strangers. So he wasn’t unsettled from being approached by someone he didn’t know. Actually, he welcomed the company. And this person, Rue, seemed rather pleasant as well.

The boy nodded. “Yeah. I’m gonna get a bike one of these days, but I don’t think that’ll help much when snow starts to pile up.” Jackson laughed. His Grams had a car - an old Crown Victoria from the 1700s - but he wasn’t allowed to drive it. Yet. “I hope to get my license soon, though. That way I’m not always walking around or depending on my Grams to get places.” Not that he had too many places to go. Every place worth going to in Pilot Ridge was pretty much accessible either by foot or by bus.

“Mmhmm,” he hummed in agreement, sipping at his own tea as he did. It warmed him from the inside out. “Oh? You can make this kind of tea? That’s cool.” Jackson could barely boil water. Just enough to fix things straight from the box.

Jackson smiled as he extended his hand to meet with Rue’s. What he said next…Jackson didn’t quite catch it right away…but about three seconds later, mid-shake, he finally processed it and snapped his eyes up to Rue, his face blossoming a brighter red than he knew possible. “E-excuse me?” he stammered out, his hand still gripped up with Rue’s.

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Rue chuckled a bit in response. "Cars are definitely nicer in the cold season," he agreed. "It took me a while to save up for mine, but it was worth it." His vehicle wasn't fancy by any means, and he bought it used, but it worked and had a functioning heater and air conditioner, so he wouldn't complain. "It's a great source of independence too," he replied, vaguely wondering how old Jackson was again. Eh, there were plenty of people that didn't get their licenses as soon as they could. "Although some would argue walking and biking is better for the planet..." he mused aloud, then chuckled, realizing he was beginning to ramble. "Sorry, I don't really talk to strangers a lot, I might go off on tangents. I do it at home with my cats too..."

Good job Rue. Attempt at not sounding like a weirdo = fail.

Anyway... "Hm? Green tea? Oh, yeah, nothing more than boiling some water and putting a teabag in, usually," he replied, coming out of his thoughts. "No idea how bubble tea works, though. That stuff is magic or something." He chuckled softly again. Movement caught his eye then - bright yellow, pawing around Jackson's feet. A puppy. Rue smiled. Anyone with that as their aura was bound to be someone good to befriend.

He shook the other boy's hand firmly with his own large, warm one, taking the opportunity to glance over his features again. All thoughts fled his mind, though, when Jackson reacted to his words. Rue struggled to form a cohesive thought as the younger boy stammered, and urged himself to take a deep breath to calm down. "Sorry," he apologized for the second time in five minutes. "I don't know what came over me. I'm not... Usually so bold." His smile was guilty and apologetic as it returned. Rue finally pulled his hand away, which now felt hot and sticky from his embarrassment. "I guess it's just been a while since I've found a near-stranger, ahh... Good-looking," he decided to admit. "And I'm terribly afraid I'm making an awful first impression." He took another sip of his tea; his aura was swirling with bits of blue and red.

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“Really? How long did it take you?” he asked with a smile. The idea of having a car of his own was attractive, but he didn’t think he could ever do it. At least not yet. “I’m wondering if maybe I should get a job sometimes soon. I know it would really help out at home. But, school keeps me so busy.” And quite honestly, Jackson really enjoyed plunging himself into so many extracurricular activities. Every time he brought up the subject with his Grams, she’d tell him “nonsense!”. It was his job as a kid to enjoy what he could while he still could, because he would never get the chance to be a kid again. Let her worry about the adult stuff. Kids shouldn’t have to think about it, she’d say.

So that’s what he did. For the most part.

Jackson shrugged and laughed. “Don’t you worry about it. I had a whole plan of just sitting here in silence before you started tangent-ing. Now, silence is nice, but company is also nice too, I think.” He smiled. Then his eyes lit up. “You have cats?” Jackson loved cats.

“Ha ha! Oh…yeah, I guess that’s how I’d make it at home too,” he said with an embarrassed chuckle. “Yeah, I don’t know how they make this stuff either. It’d be nice if we could make it at home, but…” Jackson took a hearty sip of his drink. “Well, then we couldn’t go out and meet people like this, y’know?” It was the potential for meeting new people that Jackson enjoyed about going out. It was exciting.

Though his meeting with Rue was turning into a different kind of exciting and Jackson wasn’t sure if that was okay or not. Their hands were still touching…. “It’s um…no, it’s okay.” He tried to sound reassuring, but his heart was too busy beating against the inside of his chest. Jackson blushed at the word “good-looking”. He’d said stuff like “good-looking” and “pretty” to girls often enough, but…was this what it was like to be on the receiving end? Especially against someone so…unexpected. “I’m just not used to being hit on so directly….or at all….not even by a girl, so I’m a little caught off guard, is all.” Jackson shook his head and gave an awkward smile. “Not a bad impression at all.” He shrugged. “It’s nice to hear that sometimes, I think.”