The Color Of Friendship (Michelle)

[Deleted]

They'd talked about doing this before, him and Michelle, but it wasn't until now, until school broke out for summer vacation, that they were able to finally get together to do it. What was 'it'? Michelle was going to teach Jackson how to make the bracelets that she invested so much of her time in as a hobby. And one which she seemed to enjoy quite a bit, considering how her face lit up whenever she talked about it. And Jackson was a sucker for cute girls with cute smiles.

He was hesitant, honestly. Making bracelets seemed like such a....girl thing to do....but it sounded like fun too! Jackson was torn between doing what he thought was fun, and doing what he thought was cool. Not that bracelets weren't cool, but....arg! Whatever! Forget it! The point was that he was here, in the home ec room, with Michelle, and he was struggling with the process about as much as any beginner would be expected to be.

Jackson looked at his.....whatever it was trying to be....with hopeless eyes. "....I think I messed it up," he grumbled pathetically. He scratched his freshly bleached hair vigorously in his frustration, then leaned onto one hand with a grump, tapping his fingers impatiently against his cheek. "Can you show me it again?" he asked, his tone slightly more sour than the last time he asked her. He had to get this perfect! No matter what! It was going to be impossible at this rate, though...

[Michelle Reed]

Finally, it was summer vacation. For Michelle, it felt like it didn't come soon enough. Most of her time had been spent investing in homework and preparing for final exams, and now that the stress of that was over, she had the rest of the month to look forward to. During the last week of summer, she had plans to go back to Vancouver to visit her family and catch up with everyone back home. Until then, she had nothing but free time.

So, why not try to teach Jackson how to make bracelets? Michelle didn't think she was much of a teacher, but it was worth a shot to at least give an effort. Plus, she enjoyed spending time around him and this just gave them another excuse to hang out.

Glancing over, Michelle fought the twitch of a smile on her face as she saw his progress so far. Granted... it wasn't the best looking, but there was improvement! And that was the important thing. "It's okay," She gently reassured him, reaching over to take a look at his bracelet. Well, soon to be bracelet. She had decided to start off with one of the easier patterns so he could get the hang of it. "I think you just missed wrapping it around that one string." Unravelling it, she showed him how to wind the coloured string together. "Just like that."

She paused to look up at Jackson, smiling. "Your new hair looks good, by the way."

[Deleted]

Maybe Jackson was being a little more grumpy than normal. That incident with Rue a few weeks back was still disrupting his moods, it seemed. And he still hadn’t spoken to the older boy about what happened. That was putting Jackson on edge, so…yeah, he was trying not to let that part of him slip out, especially not against Michelle, but there were signs. Subtle ones in his posture and in his tone when he was getting frustrated. Michelle was so nice to be teaching him this, though, so he had to be appreciative and patient, at least.

Because this bracelet was supposed to be special. If Rue wasn’t going to come to him, then Jackson was going to go to Rue…with meaningful presents in hand. Yup, that was the plan. And…well, Finn and that guy what’s his name could get the rejects.

Which was probably going to be this one, considering how it was looking so far. At least Michelle was there to help him fix it. He smiled up at her when she came over to unravel his work and re-demonstrate it for the telekinetic. “Thanks…I know it sucks, but…I really appreciate you helping me like this.” And taking the time out of her day to teach him something he normally wouldn’t ever consider. Ahh, at least he got to spend time with a cute girl, just lookit that smile~

Jackson straightened out at the compliment and reflexively ran his fingers through his hair, blushing and laughing nervously. “Really? You think so? I kinda did it on a whim, so I wasn’t sure.” That whim being the pressure of other friends who insisted he’d look good. Guess they were right. “My Grams wasn’t too happy about it though.” She’d given him a lecture about it that lasted long into the night. Good thing she didn’t find out about that other thing he had done, when he ended up staying out all night without telling anybody. Then the lecture from that night would have lasted ten times as long as it did. They were still sore…the piercings. But of course, they would be, wouldn’t they? His face grew redder as he tried to not think about it.

[Michelle Reed]

Truthfully, Michelle wasn't the best at reading people; she often overlooked the small details in other people because she was preoccupied worrying about herself and how she came across in each and every social situation. The subtle cues Jackson displayed weren't enough to make her question anything and even if she did notice, she wouldn't say anything. Maybe it was just a bad day or something and he didn't want to talk about it.

"You should have seen mine when I first started off. Awful." Michelle added with a light laugh, remembering how one of her first bracelets was just a knot of randomly coloured string since she forgot to follow the pattern. "And it's no problem, really. I just hope you're enjoying yourself and having fun." Because the last thing she wanted was for Jackson to be bored out of his mind while spending time with her. "You decide who this bracelet is going to be for yet?"

Her smile widened. "Yeah. I mean, you looked good with the dark hair too, I'm not saying you didn't." She added, her own cheeks flushing with a rush of red. "But... yeah. It does look good blonde. It was a good impulse decision." She drew her fingers back from the string, happy to let him take over again until she needed to intervene and adjust if needed. "Oh really? She kind of strict about that?" She never understood parents or relatives who were strict about appearances. Then again, Michelle's parents were pretty relaxed about that sort of thing and it wasn't like she was into changing her appearance a lot.

"I never understood the point. You know, it's not like it's her body. You can do what you want with it." She rambled.

[Deleted]

Not just a bad day. More like a bad month. Jackson was trying, however, to be minimally pleasant around Michelle. Because she was nice and didn’t deserve his sour attitude.

Jackson managed a smile. “I’m sure it was a lot better than….” He looked at a small pile of his failed attempts. “Well, than any of those.” He wanted at least one of them to be decently good. He had a very specific person in mind he wanted to give it to. The rest…well, he didn’t want to waste them, so he’d give them to some of this other friends. They probably wouldn’t notice the difference.

He chuckled. “I am! Lots of fun! I just…I don’t know, I just get frustrated easily, I guess.” Which was true, though he normally never acted on it. Jackson nodded, blushing slightly. “Yeah…I do…did. That’s why it’s gotta be perfect, y’know?” He wasn’t sure how to answer if she asked for specifics. Probably just stick with the same lie he gave his grams.

“Thanks…” he said shyly. He was glad the change was well received. Jackson was afraid some people might call him a hooligan(like his grams insisted he was turning into every time he came home with a new piercing). That his peers didn’t see things the same way gave him a bit more confidence. “Yeah…she’s really traditional. I don’t really understand it either. It’s not like keeping my hair black is gonna keep me from committing a crime or something.” Jackson blushed a bright red and held up a hand. “Not that I have or anything!” he lied, flustered. “I mean, what kid hasn’t done something a little off, y’know?” Like smoking, or underage drinking, or tagging a children’s playground with a bling-bling Kermit the Frog. Maybe not that last one… "Well...I'm sure you haven't done anything like that, right?" Michelle was way too nice and reserved to do anything considered 'bad'. Definitely.

[Michelle Reed]

"Not really, no." Michelle assured him. Everyone had to start out somewhere, and she started off as a beginner as well. Granted, she also learned and started off at a younger age but left that point out. "By the end of this, you'll be on your way. And then it'll be your turn to teach your friends."

"Understandable." She continued. For something seemingly so.. tame, making bracelets did cause a lot of frustration. Most of the time it was a relaxing hobby and the perfect way to unwind from her peers but sometimes her frustration leaked into her work. Michelle herself had a drawer of discarded bracelets in her dorm that were tangled messes, or just didn't turn out as expected. With a beaming smile, she looked up at Jackson and said "Great! It's always more fun when you decide who to make one for." She didn't press further about who it was for, since she figured it wasn't her business and didn't know if they were on friendly enough terms for that.

Michelle turned her attention back to the string in front of her, twisting and tying a few more rounds before nodding thoughtfully. "Yeah, I guess she's from a different generation, right? So it makes it hard to see eye to eye when you have such different values and whatnot." Looking up, she grinned and let out a laugh. "Hey, you never know. Maybe you're some sort of a rebel now." She teased.

Now it was her turn to turn red. Had she done anything bad? Maybe she accidentally stayed out past curfew a couple of times, but otherwise, nothing. She pushed the strands of her hair back with a shrug. "I guess not, no. Nothing too noteworthy."

[Deleted]

“Me? Teach…?” Him teach Rue? Somehow he didn’t think that would go over well. Jackson wasn’t bad at teaching, but if he couldn’t even make a decent bracelet, how was he expected to teach anybody else how to do it? And would he really want to teach Kodi or Finn? ….somehow, Jackson had the idea that Finn would be better at this than he was.

Yeah, that guy probably wouldn’t get as frustrated with it as Jackson did either. Though if he could get it down, then he supposed it could be…methodical…tedious….repetitive… Boring. Yeah, Jackson wasn’t one for arts and crafts, at least not this kind. Still, he was giving it a good try, and Michelle was being so nice about it, he’d feel terrible if he gave up now! He smiled and chuckled. “Yeah, I think so too,” he agreed with a nod. Because then he could spend the time imagining what kind of face Rue will make when he finally sees it.

While Michelle went back to stringing her bracelet, Jackson decided a break was in order and continued the conversation, leaning against the desk with his chin in his hand. “Yeahhh. I wanna make her happy and all, but it’s just so….” Suffocating, he thought. Jackson didn’t say that out loud, however, and merely trailed off into a pause before snickering at her teasing. “Oh, if only you knew~” he said, only half-joking.

The red in her face said everything. Well, that and the fact that she had to think about it at all. “Ah,” he said, feeling just a little disappointed. “Well, I guess I was right, then.” Jackson gave her a slight poke in the arm. “You’re just too darned sweet to do anything like that, right?” he teased, blushing only slightly at giving such a compliment. “Pretty too.” Gah, would his mouth just stop already!? Jackson tried to laugh it off and turned back to threading his bracelet.

[Michelle Reed]

"If you wanted to, I mean." Michelle quickly added, noticing the slightly apprehensive tone in his voice. "Or we can just do this together. Like, if you want. I don't want to force you or anything." She rambled, lifting a hand to run through the frizzy strands of her hair. The humidity of the summer always ruined her hair. Using the hair elastic around her wrist, she tied it up in a messy bun, just to get it off of her neck. Besides, the rambling made her feel extremely hot and embarrassed.

Her parents would be happy. She had made a friend and it hadn't required her to step out of her zone too much. "But yeah, it gives you a sense of purpose." Michelle commented about making unique bracelets.

"It must be hard." She said with a frown. Searching for approval and not getting it. The froqn quickly reversed into a grin as Jackson laughed. "Psh, yeah right. Next thing you'll tell me you sneak out all the time and go around doing... bad things." Her mind drew a blank trying to think of an example.

She wound the pieces of string around each other, all second nature at this point. Michelle didn't have to think too hard; she just let her fingers move. "I'm kind of boring. You know?" She jabbed at herself with a short laugh. The crimson in her cheeks deepened at the compliment. "Maybe that's one way to describe it; a nicer way." She suggested. And then he called her pretty.

"Nah, you're just being nice." She managed to mumble out, trying to fight the twitch of a smile on her lips. She'd be lying if she said the compliment didn't make her feel good, though.

[Deleted]

“Oh, I just…I guess I could try, maybe…” Maybe with Rue. Yeah, that’d be okay. Jackson lifted his head and smiled at the pretty brunette. “I like just doing this for now. I think it’s a little too soon to start talking about me teaching this to anybody, y’know? I might…I don’t know, burn the place down trying.” Because bracelet making had everything to do with fire. Jackson kicked himself for saying something so stupid, despite his intent on it being a joke. It wasn’t a very good one.

Jackson nodded and laughed, pointing a finger up as he wholeheartedly agreed with her. “Yeah! Exactly! And it kinda excites you for the end, when you finally give them the finished product. It’s like that thing people say, uhh…the journey over the destination.” Jackson had no idea what he was trying to say anymore and he was almost positive he’d made a fool of himself by quoting the wrong proverb. “Uh, anyway, it’s something to look forward to, is what I mean.” He laughed it off, color touching his cheeks once again.

“It’s fine. I’m okay.” The boy shrugged up a shoulder, attempting to dismiss the topic of his grandmother, though his eyes showed that he was actually quite troubled by her constant lack of approval. He didn’t want to think about it. Grams was his life, she sacrificed so much for him, it was only right that he honored her efforts by being as good as he could be. Or at least appearing so. Jackson laughed. “Yeah, like…I don’t know, tagging a children’s playground with graffiti or something, right?” Whoops, that was almost a confession, but…Michelle didn’t have to know that it was true. As long as he didn’t get caught it wasn’t a problem.

Jackson shook his head, disagreeing with her self-description. “I don’t think you’re boring.” Not in the least. Maybe she had a boring hobby, but…Michelle herself was nice to be around. “That doesn’t mean it’s not true! You’re a good girl! My…” Jackson hesitated a moment, then smiled gently. “My Grams…my mom too….they’d be glad that I found such a nice friend as you. I know that sounds cheesy and all, but…it’s true, y’know.” Of course he was blushing straight out to his ears at giving such a big compliment, but again, that didn’t mean it wasn’t true. He was certain that Grams would like Michelle. She’d like her a lot more than Ginny, that’s for sure.

[Michelle Reed]

Michelle lifted her gaze to meet his, giving Jackson a gentle smile. "Yeah.. yeah, you're right. This is only your first time doing something like that so it'd be kind of hard to teach someone while you're still learning." She rambled, ending it off with a laugh at his joke. "Aww come on, you're not terrible at this." Michelle assured him, leaning over to gently nudge his shoulder with her own.

"Exactly," She agreed with a nod. "You just feel proud because it's something that you took the time to do. And that means a lot more than buying expensive gifts, you know?" Michelle was definitely someone who preferred sentimental value over money value. The emotional, romantic side of her loved the idea of handmaking gifts for loved ones, as evident in her chose of hobbies. She bit down on her lip, to try and fight the smile as Jackson blushed and laughed it off. He was just.. so cute and funny.

But the whole not getting approval clearly bothered him. Michelle figured it wouldn't be polite for her to say anything; she was sure the last thing he wanted was to have a conversation about this. Plus, maybe then Jackson would never choose to confide in her again and she didn't want that to happen. She laughed, shaking her head at at the example he gave. "Oddly specific, but yeah... yeah that would count I imagine." Michelle grinned. She was much too oblivious to catch on without Jackson explicitly saying he did that. Not to mention she was still under the impression that he wasn't the kind of person to do that sort of thing.

It was a relief to hear that she wasn't as boring as she thought it was. Michelle let out a small breath that she hadn't realized she'd been holding, her face turning equally as read as his own. "Thanks, you know. That means a lot to me." She smiled through her blush. "My parents would be happy I made a friend like you. Someone outgoing and so kind and nice." Michelle looked up. "I'm glad we're friends."

[Deleted]

Seems like he dodged that bullet, though why did it make him feel like he weaseled out of something she really looked forward to seeing him do?  Jackson felt that guilt, but didn’t know why, really.  He grinned, still, as she laughed and bumped their shoulders.  Man, she really was so cute.  He dropped his gaze, trying to hide the red that was burning his cheeks. 

The boy nodded, holding back a smile and failing grandly at it, the mere thought of Rue accepting this handmade gift making him want to explode in giggles. “I don’t have much money anyway, either, so I guess it helps with that too?” Jackson would love to be able to afford gift for all of his friends, actually, but for even one that just wasn’t possible. It did make him feel a little guilty for always mooching off them, though. “I sorta wish I knew how to do more stuff like this, then I could make stuff all the time for people, right?” He had a little bit of artistic ability, in drawing and painting, but he wouldn’t call it anything good, especially since he primarily used it for ‘oddly specific’ activities that he didn’t really want to advertise.

Most people didn’t think he was the sort to do something like that, and Jackson planned on keeping it that way. It was strange how much people left you alone so long as you got good grades, were generally nice, and didn’t swear. It was once you got confrontational that people, teachers mainly, started keeping their eye out, because that was apparently a sign that you were a ‘problem’. He laughed, figuring Michelle wouldn’t pick up on that hint, and that was just as well. Michelle was just another nice person he liked and didn’t want to disappoint.

“You don’t need to do any of that stuff to be interesting, so just…well, I think you’re fine the way you are.” Girls needed to be sweet like Michelle was. Things were just better that way. All this complimenting was going to make Jackson’s face permanently red at this rate, he really needed to learn when to stop. Jackson was going to talk himself into a hole he couldn’t get out of one of these days. “Aww….now you’re jut being nice, I’m not really….any of those things.” He breathed out a few nervous laughs then peered bak up to the pretty brunette. “Me too.” Jackson dipped his head slightly, still flushed from the conversation, but gradually turned in his chair to restart his work on stringing his bracelet. The break was just what he needed, he thought.

[Michelle Reed]

"Yeah, that's true too. But I mean, friends who think gifts only count if they're expensive? I can't even imagine that. Gifts should just mean something." Michelle rambled. As long as there was thought put into it. She wasn't trying to bash expensive, well planned out gifts or anything. There was a time and a place. But, a friendship bracelet was good for smaller situations; it showed time and effort. That they were worth making a bracelet for. "Well, hopefully by the end of today you'll enjoy doing this and I can show you even more patterns and stuff." Michelle beamed towards Jackson. "And maybe we could even learn something together, you know... a new hobby or something. If you want."

Immediately after the suggestion, her cheeks went red. She tried to ignore the feeling that spread across her face, but it was hard with the way the conversation was going. "Maybe I'm missing out on something though, like the whole teenage rebellion." Or maybe not; who was she to say. "But thank you." Michelle smiled as Jackson denied being any of those traits she just listed. Her smile turned into a frown. "Yeah, you are. You're one of the nicest people I've ever met here." She said, genuinely meaning it. "You're kind and funny.. and I really like being around you." It felt so effortless.

As he turned back to focus on the bracelet, Michelle fell silent, happy to stay quiet if it meant he could concentrate better. She watched as he resumed, mindlessly weaving the strings in front of her as well.

[Deleted]

“I can’t either. I can’t even afford it, so I don’t know why anyone would even expect that from me.” Most of his friends were well aware of his financial situation. He was lucky that his Grams even allowed him to have a cell phone. “It really sucks, because I really want to be able to give people things.” And it made him feel ten kinds of guilty when people went out of their way to give him things around Christmas or his birthday, when he so often didn’t return the favor.

Despite how tedious(and boring) this was, Jackson was thankful that he learned(or rather, was still learning) from Michelle how to do this bracelet threading. And at the mention of learning more, Jackson smiled in response. “Really? I don’t know how good they’ll be, but I wanna learn! All of them!” For the sake of knowing. And spending more time with Michelle. And for having a skill he could utilize when he wanted to make something for someone important. His smile grew at the suggestion to learn something new entirely. “Yeah! I’d like that, we can learn…uh…” Jackson paused, trying to think of some hobby they could do together that didn’t require a butt-load of money, like model airplanes or rockets did. “Uh….basket weaving?” he suggested jokingly.

Jackson laughed sheepishly at her praise, scratching the back of his head in his embarrassment. “Thanks….” he said with a small smile, not wanting to get caught up in a endless pattern of praising and humble refuting with her. That could go on forever if you weren’t careful. “I do too,” he returned at least. He liked having a friend he could speak with comfortably with like this. It made him think like he could be really honest with her.

With the two of them concentrating on their respective projects, the room became quiet, almost uncomfortably. Jackson was the sort who didn’t like quiet for too long. It made him ruminate over things he didn’t want to think about. “Hey, Michelle…?” he started after a few minutes of silence. He hesitated, then continued as casually as he could before he could talk himself out of it. “I-if I told you that this bracelet was…w-was a special thing….for another guy…..well, what do you think about that?” Jackson’s hands had slowed down considerably on their work, though he kept his eyes fixed on the colorful pattern in front of him while he waited for her answer.

[Michelle Reed]

"But good friends will understand." Michelle assured him with a nod. Hopefully; she couldn't say with 100% certainty since she didn't know Jackson's friends. "And you know, you give your time and whatnot to your friends. So it doesn't have to necessarily be material things either." But maybe that was just the sappy part of her talking.

Her smile widened. "I'd love to show you more patterns. Some of them can be kind of tricky but the end results are cool." Michelle gushed, happy to have someone like Jackson who didn't mind listening to her ramble about bracelets. Or, if he did mind, he did a great job at hiding it. "You know, that way we're both on the same level of experience. And it could be a lot of fun." Maybe they'd both end up finding something new to enjoy. At the suggestion of basket weaving, she grinned. "Sure. Think they offer classes around here on it?"

The residual of a blush lingered on Michelle's cheeks, as she smiled to herself and concentrated on the threads in her hands. At the mention of her name, Michelle looked up from her project to Jackson's face. She didn't say anything; just waiting expectantly for what he wanted to say. She tried catching his gaze, but found it difficult since he was still looking down at the pattern in front of him. "Mhm?" She said, just so he would know she was listening. "Well, it wouldn't change much. It's still for someone special." Michelle replied with a soft smile. "I think that it's great, if it's for a guy or a girl."

"Does he make you happy?" She asked, hoping she wasn't getting too personal or anything.

[Deleted]

Jackson laughed. “Yeah, they usually do.” Understand, that is. “But then….gosh, I don’t know, I guess the more understanding and reasonable they are, the more guilty I feel for it, y’know?” Did that make any sense? Honestly, it would be easier if people just got irritated at him for his shortcomings and called him out on it. But, contrary to his usual behavior, Jackson didn’t like taking advantage of people, even if it seemed like he did it a lot unintentionally. Well, not unintentionally, but it wasn’t malicious or anything. He was just…looking out for himself. That’s how he justified it, at least.

“That’s what I usually end up doing. I got a lot of free time, so why not give it to people who need it, right? Sometimes it gets annoying, honestly, but if I can do it, and they appreciate it, then why not?” Jackson valued his time very much. He’d much rather be playing video games or basketball than helping out a teacher with some useless task they had orchestrated for pointless classroom exercises. So that he was giving it up was a good thing, right?

The boy nodded, completely in agreement with Michelle’s proposal idea. “Yeah, I think so too.” He wasn’t expecting her to take the basket weaving thing seriously though. “Uh…maybe not basket weaving,” he said with a nervous chuckle. That one was a little too…uh…he couldn’t think of a word, but it was largely unappealing to him. “Um…maybe we can ask Mr. Wentsworth if he has anything we can try? Like, we try a lot of things if he has them, and if we find something we both like, we’ll go with that?” That sounded like a fair plan to him.

Jackson didn’t know how he expected Michelle to answer. She was so kind, it was almost impossible to think that she’d react negatively…but one never knew. And Jackson still wasn’t comfortable enough with the whole guy-with-a-guy deal to not be afraid of how others would react to it. “Y-you really think so?” he asked, slowly sliding his eyes over to the girl. His cheeks grew warm at the question, and he averted his gaze again. “I don’t know, maybe. I guess.” He paused a moment then shook his head. “Sorry, I’m being weird about this, aren’t I? It’s not that big of a deal, is it?” Other people didn't seem to think so.