AU: Glory Be (Chase)

[Dr. James Campbell]

(AU premise-Set in an non-powered universe, 21-year-old seminary student James Campbell is distracted.)

It had been a long day.

Really, every day was long for James. Between work, studying, working at his other job, studying, and classes, sometimes he felt like he didn't have enough time to breathe. But at least with daylight saving in effect, it was still light out enough for him to get some reading in while he waited for Harriet to pick him up.

Though the campus for St. Adelaide University was pretty insular, a few of the administration buildings were on a main road, including the bookstore where James worked part-time. He got a slight tuition break for it, but most of the money he made went right back into buying his books each semester. One of them he had propped up on the picnic table while he read, occasionally taking notes. At least he would be home before it was too late, and then he could hopefully finish all his coursework and still get to bed at a reasonable hour.

A stiff breeze blew through the empty trees and ruffled the pages of James's book. He'd been hoping that the day would stay as warm as it had been earlier, but that looked less and less likely as he waited. He felt a buzz in his pocket and pulled out his phone, already knowing what the message was. He flipped open his so-cheap-it-didn't-even-have-data phone and groaned audibly as he read the message. Sorry Jay. Emergency meeting w advisor. Be there by 6:30 : (

That was an hour away. So much for being in bed at a reasonable hour. James slammed the phone shut with a grimace, then folded his arms on the table and leaned over to rest his face in them. Maybe he could just sleep on his latin homework now and then he'd be better rested for finishing the rest once they got home.

[Chase Campbell]

Chase had not had a long day. Far from it. He’d slept until noon after being out late the night before with his friends, and after rising from the dead (or close enough to it), he’d dragged himself back home, showered and changed, and endured yet another lecture from his mother about either going to college, or getting a real job instead of his part time thing at the garage, playing with cars.

Needless to say, he hadn’t listened. Again. His job at the garage paid well enough for the hours he spent there, and in return, his motorbike was kickass thanks to his rough mechanical skills. Maybe he’d go to school for mechanics, but that would be later.

It was always later.

After getting bored with television, he’d decided to see if any of his friends were around for hookups before gearing up and leaving the house again. Dressed in his usual riding attire, consisting of worn, ripped jeans, a black t-shirt, and a vintage looking leather jacket, he was set to go.

Kicking his bike into gear, he took off down the road without a real destination in mind. Eventually he had to gas up the beast, but for now he had enough to cruise around until he heard back from Ryan and the others.

Half an hour into his cruising, his stomach called attention to the fact he hadn’t really eaten much. Thankfully, there was a store up ahead he knew had snacks. Dropping into a lower gear, he pulled up in front of the store and shut off the beast. His helmet was pulled off and hung from one of the handlebars, letting his shaggy blond hair free. After running his fingers through to make sure it was at least halfway presentable, the nineteen year old headed into the store with full intentions to pick up as much junk as his bank account would allow.

Really, that equated to a bag of chips, three bags of Sour Patch Kids, and a small bottle of Coke, but whatever. Good enough. Dangling his prizes from his wrist, he slid his sunglasses up on top of his head. It would be a pain in the ass to take the stuff somewhere else, and there was a table handy... okay, it was semi-occupied, but he could deal with that. Guy looked like he was sleeping anyway. It wasn’t like he’d be long. With that decided, Chase flopped onto the bench opposite Sleeping Guy and pulled out a bag of Sour Patch Kids along with the Coke bottle.

[Dr. James Campbell]

James barely registered the sound as a motorcycle stopped a little way away from his table. He didn't look up, just habitually adjusted so his cheap-as-hell phone was at least tucked safely under his arms, and one of the arms was looped through one of the straps of his backpack.

Yes, his backpack from high school. It fit all of his books and was still in very good shape. Yes, James was aware he was a dork. Harri made sure he knew that well.

Other than the slight shift to protect his belongings--which no one else would actually want anyway, as it wasn't like there was much money tucked into his wallet--he didn't respond when he heard the noise of someone waling by. He didn't take notice at all, until the newcomer stepped between him and the last, lingering sunbeam and plopped himself down at the table.

James took a moment to look up and narrow his eyes at the loud newcomer. Surely, there were other places someone could sit to eat that wouldn't be taunting him. His stomach rumbled a little and he grunted softly to cover the noise. With Harri being late, it would be quite a while before he could sit down for dinner. Finally, to the young man who had sat down, James said, "Excuse me, but would you mind being a bit more quiet? Thanks."

[Chase Campbell]

Chase hadn't seen anyone actually carrying a backpack since his high school days. If he needed to take something somewhere, he usually stuffed what he could into the saddlebags that got slung over the back of his bike, or at worst, slung a beat up duffel bag across his bag if he needed more than his saddlebags could carry. But a backpack? No way. He was cooler than that, thanks.

As he settled in with his treasures, the shifting caught his eye. Glancing across the table, he caught the narrowed look and arched an eyebrow at him. What, was sitting down against the law now? Whatever. He continued to rustle the package of candy until it tore open, happily extracting the sour gummies. His attention only went back to the older boy when he actually addressed him.

"It's a free country, isn't it?" Which meant really, he could make all the damn noise he wanted. Granted, he wasn't that bad. Really. "What're you doing, anyway? Looked like sleeping to me." The book in front of him was hard to read upside down, but it looked far too complex for his feeble brain to comprehend. Okay, so anything above a grade ten level was probably pushing it. Not that he really cared. After all, he was just killing time until his friends were available.

[Dr. James Campbell]

Usually, James wasn't quite so abrupt when it came to strangers. But considering how long of a day he'd had, it probably wasn't surprising that he was just frustrated in general. (And he was finding it very hard to give the guy the benefit of the doubt, despite having no reason to believe he was being irritating deliberately.)

He sat up enough that he could like the newcomer in the eye. "Well, someone sleeping would be a reason to be quiet, right?"

Even as he said it though, he felt a little guilty. Really, it wasn't the other guy's fault that James'd had an exhausting day. And if he planned on being a priest, he needed to practice being able to deal with situations like this. "I'm sorry. That was rude of me. I was just trying to take a break from studying Latin. And I've had a long day."

[Chase Campbell]

Chase had no qualms talking to strangers. He was social by nature, and this was nothing new to him. It wasn't like he had anything better to do anyway. Not until his friends got back to him at least. Until then, he was content to pack away his junk food, and engage in a little conversation with sleeping guy, now that he wasn't sleeping anymore. He was a little weird, sure, but he wasn't bad looking, and it was better than being alone.

"I guess," he admitted as he picked up a few more of the sour candies and tossed them in his mouth. "But apparently you weren't actually sleeping," he pointed out. Therefore, he could make as much noise as he wanted. Teenage logic was fun, and he was going to use and abuse it until he was twenty, thank you very much. Which wasn't that far away, but still.

He was set to ignore the apology, at least until the older boy mentioned what he'd been doing. Craning his neck to look at the book, he arched an eyebrow. "Who the hell studies Latin anymore?" It definately wasn't taught in high school. Well, at least... he was maybe 80% sure on that. He hadn't bothered with extra language classes. English had made his own language complicated enough, thanks. "Are you in college or something?" College had never been something Chase had been interested in, despite his parents' best urging. Graduating high school had been a stretch, and now he'd finished that, he considered himself free. All he needed was enough casual hours at the garage to cover gas for the bike, and any junk his parents generally refused to pick up at the store for him. Besides, you had to be smart for college, and his high school transcript did not reflect that.

[Dr. James Campbell]

James hesitated for a moment, then narrowed his eyes at the newcomer. He didn't expect that the other young man would have any interest in his studies. (Heck, even some of his classmates didn't seem to care about Latin, and they were required to study it.) He couldn't help looking around at the campus bookstore and the other buildings that St. Adelaide owned. "Yes, I'm in college. I'm in the Seminary program here. At St. Adelaide University."

He couldn't help but let the sarcasm creep into his voice as he pointed to the logo on the plastic bag from the bookstore. "You know, you did just walk out of the campus bookstore. You do know we're technically on campus, right?"

Yeah, that was also a little mean. Or at least unnecessarily sarcastic. Other than the guy being kind of loud, he wasn't really being too obnoxious.

[Chase Campbell]

Chase honestly hadn't paid much attention to what the buildings in the area actually said. He just knew that the store they were sitting near had snacks, and that it was handy to stop in at. He didn't actually know it was part of the University campus. ... At all, really.

He also had no idea what Seminary meant.

"What's Seminary?" He couldn't help blurting the question out, not even looking sorry after he'd asked. It probably wasn't his business, but he wanted to know anyway. Anything to keep himself entertained while he waited for his phone to go off.

As for pointing out he was technically on the fancy university campus, that just elicited a crooked, cocky grin from the blond. "Oooh. Does that mean I'm trespassing?" His reaction was clearly one of someone who was familiar with the term, and probably intimately so. He didn't care if he was trespassing or not. He had snacks, and he was happy about it. Whether or not the other boy was, well... that probably had yet to be seen. He hadn't chased him off or anything, so that had to be good. Sort of. Right?

[Dr. James Campbell]

Okay. So the other young man really was clueless. James really should have been nicer from the beginning. "Seminary is religious education. I'm studying to become a priest."

No matter what the guy's response to that would be, James was sure that he'd heard it before. There was a crisis in priesthood due to the rapidly aging religious population. Fewer and fewer young people were entering the religious life, particularly the ones that called for lifelong celibacy. Even his parents had taken a few weeks to come around to the idea, and they were as Catholic as New York liberals could get. His younger sisters and brother had also been surprised. Really, the only one who had encouraged him from the start was his Aunt Peggy. (According to her, she'd once considered becoming a nun, but then had fallen in love and married instead.)

He was a little surprised to hear a hint of interest from the other guy when he asked if he was trespassing. Did he enjoy breaking laws? "No, the street is public and obviously it's not like they check for student ids at the door. I was just... you asked if I was in college when I've got a pile of textbooks in front of me and we're on a college campus. That's why I brought it up."

[Chase Campbell]

Chase wasn't so much clueless as he was... ignorant. In the nicest sense possible, of course. He didn't actually know that the store was part of the campus. Now he did, he wasn't sure what to make of it. Nor did he know that the heck seminary meant. Until now, at least. Resting his chin on his hand, he watched the other boy with mild interest. "... A priest? Seriously?" He'd never known anyone to want to do that. Hell, him and his friends had all but squirmed their way through Sunday School as kids, and now they just forced themselves to sit through the Christmas and Easter stuff their parents more or less strong armed or guilted them into attending. "Why'd you want to do that?" He wasn't trying to be condescending. He honestly wanted to know.

He still didn't know what to make of this. Most kids his age were either in school to do... non-church stuff, or were like him. Drifting along, working here and there, and otherwise just playing around. This older guy... he had stuff figured out. Chase didn't get it. He didn't even know if he wanted to grow up, let alone what he wanted to do.

The short answer was yes. Chase did get a thrill out of treading the line between law breaking and behaving. Trespassing on a school campus was hardly the worst he'd ever done, but he still got a kick out of the idea. "... Oh." The wild, excited expression was gone now. "Well, I dunno. You could be reading for fun. People do that." People that weren't him. His idea of fun was more... physical.

[Dr. James Campbell]

James's smile went a little tight. It was one thing when his family and friends asked why he wanted to go into Seminary, but this was a complete stranger. For all the blond kid knew, James was a religious fanatic. "Yeah, I seriously want to be a priest. I want to help people, and this is the way I've chosen to do so. I want to dedicate my life to it."

Was he being defensive? A little. But he didn't like strangers questioning his life choices like that.

His smile was a bit more natural--in a way that was also pretty sarcastic--when the other guy continued. Yeah, some people did read for fun, but probably not this guy. (Also, usually not textbooks on dead languages.) "Yeah, I read for fun to. But novels, fiction, not....this."

James turned one of the textbooks to the other guy and opened it to the page he had bookmarked. It was a chart of conjugated verbs. "It's not exactly thrilling."

[Chase Campbell]

Chase wasn't quite sure what he thought of the older boy. He was more curious than anything else, being that he'd never really known anyone close to his age who would want to do something like that. "That's... different." Chase wasnt' always the best with words, but that was the best he could do. "I mean, not bad. Just... different. Never knew anyone that wanted to do that." At least not someone that was like, under a hundred.

As the book was twisted around, Chase tilted his head. The words were nowhere near anything he could recognize, and he nearly went a little cross eyed. Who read for fun anyway? At least James was clever enough to not read this kind of stuff for fun. "Holy crap. Not thrilling? Try boring." Curious, though, he peeked through a few more pages, which looked like more of the same. "How do you not fall asleep through this stuff?" If this was what it took to be a priest, no wonder there wasn't more interest. Then something struck him. Personal or not, he was interested. "Hey, if you're a priest, doesn't that mean you can't have sex?" The question was not thought out, nor was it phrased more delicately, but that was just how Chase tended to operate.

[Dr. James Campbell]

James couldn't help but smirk at the other guy's reaction to his book. No, he didn't think it was the most enthralling subject in the world either, but this guy seemed to be genuinely impressed. And hey, making him feel smart was a pretty effective way to make Jay forget about interrupting his nap. "Holy crap is, indeed, what I am studying."

Truth be told, he had found himself in trouble a lot during primary and secondary school for being sarcastic. He was working on it, but sometimes it slipped out. "I like learning. I like searching for truth. That helps keep it from being too boring, even when I'm conjugating verbs."

And then the blond guy asked the question. Ever since he'd enrolled in Seminary, he'd been fielding variations on "But what about sex?" from family, friends, and complete strangers. Apparently, everyone else cared a whole lot more about his sex life than his life choices. "I'm not a priest yet, but yes, Catholic priests are celibate. And are you seriously asking me about that before you even know my name? Seriously?"

[Chase Campbell]

Most upper level education would have impressed Chase. He had no real drive to pursue it himself, so anyone that did it was instantly upgraded in his mind to incredibly smart, and would probably amount to a hell of a lot more than he ever would. But he was more than okay with that. He had fun, and that was the important part. As long as he kept getting his paychecks from the garage, and kept learning little by little how things like motors worked, he would be happy with that. No more school necessary. "Yeah, I guess so, huh?" It was hard to hide the laugh that bubbled up, because he was actually amused. Who knew future priests had senses of humor after all?

"That's cool I guess. I mean, I wouldn't do it. School kicked my ass the first time around. I'm not looking for a rematch." It would make his parents happy, sure, but he wasn't convinced he'd be happy about it. "But it's cool for you, if it's what you want." To each their own, and all that jazz.

Chase had honestly never met another guy his age that didn't think about sex in any way, shape, or form. It was on his mind multiple times a day, so he couldn't quite process someone else not thinking about it. Still, he copped a grin and rested his chin in his palm, amused at the other boy's reaction. "Yeah, seriously, I am. And if it makes you feel better, fine. What's your name? I'm Chase." His confident tone was back, and he was clearly getting a bit of a kick out of this.