Man? More like baby. (Vin and Sean)

[Brendan James]

It was all too easy for Brendan to become completely wrapped up in Vin. His presence, touch, even his scent intoxicated the teacher. And intoxication almost always leads a person to do something… Well something stupid. Which was exactly what their little show in the hall was. Moronic. Asinine. Forget the fact that Vin was, according to some, of ‘lesser intelligence’. Bren was the teacher. He was the one risking his job by being in this relationship. He, and he alone, should’ve known to move their affectionate embrace to a more secluded area.

But like I said, when within any close proximity to Vin, Bren is intoxicated. So he wasn’t thinking clearly. His only thoughts were pertaining to one thing. Just how much he loved Vin. Well, that and just how much he enjoyed kissing his boyfriend. So he didn’t hear the footsteps. He didn’t hear them. How could he have let his guard down?

The voice rang through his ears clear as day though. Brendan’s eyes snapped open, looking at Vin with complete terror. This was it. The end of their secret. People would know. The entire school would know in who knew how long. What about the town? Would they know? And what would Bren tell his father? For now, he’d feel nothing but fear and regret. Later, probably the next day, he’d begin to feel relief.

Brendan’s arms tightened around Vin’s waist, willing this to not be real. And even though he wasn’t a religious man, he prayed, begged, pleaded with whatever (if there was such a thing) higher being there was for anything else to be happening, anything but this. He was also very quietly muttering multiple profanities. All of which were being used to curse himself.

He’d been holding Vin in place against himself, unwilling to let his boyfriend go until his face no longer seemed to be a combination of dread and begging for mercy. Once his features were smooth and he appeared calm, at least physically, he dropped his arms from Vin’s waist, allowing the boy to move.

“Doctor Neville.” He said in greeting, with a slight nod in his coworker’s direction. Given the circumstances, he thought professionalism (since Brendan was so sorely lacking them) might be best. This situation was… Less than ideal. Awful, actually. But he kept his face clear, blank and his back straight.

But he didn’t dare look at Vin. His eyes were locked on the doctor. And much similar to Sean, Brendan himself was getting a headache. Though, for entirely different reasons. Bren was trying to figure out what exactly this meant. He was trying to process all the ramifications of this affair at once.

“Actually… It’s exactly what it looks like.” It would’ve been a dramatic statement to take Vin’s hand at that moment, but he couldn’t right then. He wanted to. But he couldn’t. His hand twitched and he settled for simply touching the back of his own hand to the back of Vin’s. Other than that, he offered no other explanation to the much older man. If he wanted more, he’d have to ask for it. Brendan thought his assumption that none of the staff would want to know such things was surely correct.

“You’ll find that Yvette will have a letter of resignation on her desk come morning.” It was the only clear answer in Brendan’s mind. He also thought it would be best and easiest for the school.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

The psychiatrist was hardly surprised that Vincent would attempt a lie; given that Vincent had a habit of doing so when caught by authority figures, and given that it was a natural inclination by many, it was to be expected. However, given that Vincent was Vincent, his lie left something to be desired. Setting aside the fact that Sean was a telepath, he was a person with senses and thus the ability to make observations, and he wasn’t senile. Of course it was what it looked like. There were few things in this world that could be confused with fooling around, and since this wasn’t a Greco-Roman wrestling match, the list was even shorter.

Fortunately, Brendan was showing more maturity than Vincent; admittedly, that wasn’t a difficult task, but given the situation...at least there had been no flat denial because Sean didn’t want to have to confront the younger man over this more than he already had. The situation was troubling, and already, the psychiatrist was planning what he would do. He would have to tell Yvette, and he had the option of waiting until tomorrow morning or calling her tonight. Neither was optimal.

However, Brendan volunteered to make that situation easier, with his promise of a letter of resignation come the morning. Then came an added decision made. The psychiatrist nodded a single time, and replied, “I should hope so, since I’ll be meeting with her tomorrow morning.”

At least Brendan understood the gravity of the situation and would not drag it out; that didn’t begin to excuse this conduct, but Yvette and the Hammel Board would surely be in agreement regarding the appropriate course of action. They would have to find a replacement.

As for the appropriate cause of action for the dance, the telepath looked from Brendan to Vincent, and then back again. He then added, “Considering the circumstances, Mister James, I believe it would be best if you left the dance; the rest of the faculty can manage the chaperoning duties.”

Sean then turned his attention to Vincent. “You and I need to have a meeting tomorrow afternoon as well. After your internship hours.”

[Vincent Verax]

Vincent squirmed uncomfortably under Sean's gaze, shifting his weight from one leg to the other while he rolled his lip rings back and forth. This was so painfully awkward. Vin, being the careless and irresponsible person that he is, often got caught in the middle of his wrongdoings. Usually he would just laugh it off, take whatever punishment that Sean was going to give him, and consider it a job well done. But this was so much different.

He never felt bad about getting himself in trouble. (Obviously not, or he would have stopped his crazy antics.) He never felt bad about getting any of the Idiot Brigade or Zac in trouble. But that he'd dragged Brendan into this whole mess, he immediately overcome with regret. Not over their relationship, no, he wanted to be with Bren no matter what happened, but that he'd caused all this and it was because of him that they'd been caught. That was what he regretted.

When Brendan's hand touched his, Vincent started just a little. He'd been staring at Sean, almost through him, his ears ringing, and the sudden touch drew him out of it. Without much thought, he hooked his pinky finger with Brendan's own, trying to do so without Sean noticing. And then Brendan promised his resignation which led to Vincent's silence being broken. "No!" He looked over at Bren, then up at Sean. "It's m'fault! Y'don'... He shouldn' hafta lose 'is job!"

Vincent was pouting. "Can'cha jus' blame me?" His voice, his expression, everything about him was pleading, hoping that somehow it wouldn't have to come to Brendan losing his job. But Vincent struggles to understand most things and this just so happened to be one of them. Hanging his head, Vin decided it was better to just look at his feet.

He probably should have guessed that Sean would also tell Brendan to leave the dance, but Vincent had already decided that he would be leaving with him. He also would need to tell Fifi and that... well, that would be awkward. She'd likely scold the both of them for doing something so risky on school grounds.

Sullenly, Vincent kicked at the ground, still not looking at Sean. Still, he knew he was being talked to when his internship was brought up. He didn't doubt that he'd get a lecture for his behavior. He just wished he was the only one sticking his neck out here, not Brendan. "Kay." He mumbled, much like a child.

[Brendan James]

Sean gave Brendan too much credit. The (inappropriate) relationship was built on, at least in part, their common immaturity. Lets all just take a moment to be grateful that Brendan’s came with an on and off switch at least. Though, to be honest, at that moment the teacher (soon to be ex) would’ve loved nothing more to fall to his knees and beg and plead with Sean to not say anything to anybody. But Bren did have some semblance of respect for himself.

The contact between himself and Vin, no matter how small, did help to soothe him a bit. It reminded him that he wasn’t standing in this alone. In the past, he’d seen this as a battle that he’d be fighting on his own, when their relationship was finally discovered. He held himself responsible; after all, he was a teacher and Vincent was just a student. But it was comforting to have the kid beside him when the truth came out.

“No Vincent.” He said, quietly to the one beside him. “I should lose my job. This wasn’t ever appropriate. Or in accordance to the rules. Or even moral, really.” Yes, the relationship wasn’t a single one of those things. But Brendan wouldn’t change anything. Ok, maybe he’d prefer Vincent having been graduated already. So perhaps it was better to say he didn’t regret any of it.

“First thing in the morning sir.” Brendan nodded in Sean’s direction. Never before had he folded so easily to anything really. In his mind it was worth it though. “Yes. Absolutely. I’ll leave immediately.” But that much had been obvious to Bren from the moment Sean broke them apart. Clearly, he wouldn’t be welcomed back to the dance. And he wasn’t going to hold his breath for an invite to any Hammel functions in general.

It had never occurred to Bren that Vin might suffer repercussions. But when the official said they’d be having a meeting the next day, Brendan thought of just that. And there’d possibly be rumors too. For a moment, he felt bad for having gotten Vin into this trouble. “I know you have no reason to listen to me Dr. Neville… And that Vin’s past isn’t really something that’ll speak to what I’m about to say… But he’s a good man. And has a big heart. And we both know this shouldn’t have happened. Not like this at least. Please… Go easy on him.”

It may have been risky, Brendan speaking like that, given the situation. But he’d have never forgiven himself if at least didn’t try to make things a little easier or bearable for Vincent.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

The psychiatrist nodded in response to Brendan’s characterization of these events: that Brendan’s actions violated professional ethics, that it violated his employment contract, and while not statutory rape, that it was an abuse of position that could expose both Brendan and Hammel to legal consequences. As such, he added, “This is neutralization, Vincent, not retaliation. I know that can be difficult to accept, but I need you to try to understand that.”

The telepath acknowledged Brendan’s agreement to leave the dance with another nod. That was for the best as well, and he was grateful that the younger man wasn’t putting up an argument about this. There was no need to create a scene and to involve more people in this than were absolutely necessary. Rumors would undoubtedly spread once Brendan stepped down, but those enjoying the dance deserved to continue to do so uninterrupted. And while he expected that Vincent would follow Brendan out, Sean had no control over that decision and wouldn’t force Vincent to remain here.

However, he had to correct a wrong impression shared by both younger men. The psychiatrist looked from Vincent to Brendan and then back again. “We need to meet tomorrow for a serious discussion that we can’t have right now, in the hall while there is a dance in progress. I want it to be after your internship so that your day isn’t more disrupted than it already will be. But you, Vincent, aren’t in trouble.” Not that there was a standard operating procedure for this, but Sean could guarantee that much. Thankfully, there wasn’t a standard operating procedure for this, because that would indicate a pattern of such behavior.

To Vincent, he added, “I know what it is to be young and to have feelings for someone. To that end, if you feel the need to go in late tomorrow or to leave early, I’m sure that Mister Bernstein would understand.”

The psychiatrist didn’t want to think about the conversation he would have with Josh later on this topic. After he apologized to his partner for the fact that their post-dance plans were officially canceled; he felt too ill to be amorous.

[Vincent Verax]

"But!" Vincent wanted to protest, but he didn't know what to say. In the back of his head, he was wishing that this would just stop and things could go back to the way they used to be. It would never be quite the same after this; Vincent understood that much. Yet he couldn't see how this could be better, considering he was so worried about what this meant for Brendan.

And then Sean started using big words, which wasn't helping matters any.

It was somewhat fascinating to him how calmly Brendan was handling this. Even if Vincent couldn't understand what Sean was saying (tiny brain, remember?) Brendan obviously did, and he was acting like a proper adult. Something that Vincent was incapable of, especially considering how he wanted to throw the biggest temper tantrum until he eventually got his way. Thankfully, he did no such thing, he just kept up his petulant pouting.

Even worse was when Brendan tried to stand up for him when he was the one losing here. Then Sean was telling him he wasn't in trouble (which was a first for Vincent) and he finally looked up at Dr. Neville. "Can't I be 'n trouble? Can't y'just... " He didn't even know how to finish that sentence, which was accentuated by the helpless manner in which he moved his arms. If he was in trouble, maybe all of this would blow over. If he was in trouble, then things would be normal. But no, Brendan was the one who was taking the blow here. He was doing so quite respectfully, obviously much more composed than Vincent, who was still trying to think of a way to save Brendan's job... or at least his reputation.

This was his fault. That was the only thing that coming back in Vincent's head. It was all his fault. All of this could have been avoided if it wasn't for his immaturity. "Bren's not bad." Vin uttered after a while, expecting that Sean would think less of him for all of this. Sure, Brendan's morals might have been a bit skewed, but he wasn't a bad person. Vincent didn't know why, but he felt the need to say that.

Vincent heaved a sigh and scratched at the back of his head. "I guess'll see ya ta'morrow then." If there was anything else he could have said at that point, Vincent didn't know what it was; if there was anything he could have done, he was drawing a blank. All he wanted to do was burrow into Brendan's chest and wish that things would just go back to normal. Quiely, he mumbled an "'m sorry." to Brendan, knowing that a simple word wouldn't fix this, but trying all the same.

[Brendan James]

The relief that Brendan felt to know that Vincent was in no trouble was great. The guilt he would’ve felt if he had been, would’ve eaten away at him and kept him up for a number of nights. But Sean’s words that it was purely a meeting, undoubtedly revolving around this awkward situation, made the teacher relax and nod that he understood.

Looking to the youngest of the three men, Brendan shook his head. “No. That’s not how it works.” In a quiet voice, he added. “I’m a teacher Vin. I wasn’t ever supposed to let this happen.” Despite having known all along that what was going on between himself and Vincent was breaking all kinds of rules and wouldn’t end well when it was discovered, Brendan had secretly hoped things would be… alright. That he’d somehow manage to keep his job. But he was basing that off the sole fact that boy was of consenting age. And Bren happens to be a delusional optimist.

But now that it was finally happening, now that they’d finally been discovered, he was oddly at ease. Brendan was, and always would be, somebody who liked to not have to be restricted. And for the past month, the fact that they had to hide had been wearing on him. To him, this was the only way to their release and freedom.

Looking back at Vin when he said that he ‘wasn’t bad’, Brendan wanted to chuckle. Wanted. But didn’t. Mostly because there was no way that wouldn’t make this situation any worse. Perhaps he wasn’t bad, but Bren knew he’d done a ‘bad’ thing. ‘Bad’ in the sense that it was clearly against the rules. But the one in question couldn’t see any other reason for why their relationship was classified as such. He didn’t feel the need to ask Sean that. Multiple reasons of course. Number one being that he thought it would most likely lead to a long lecture. And after the emotional roller coaster this night had been, he’d grown very tired.

Bren let his thumb stroke the back of Vin’s hand when he heard the apology come from the younger man’s mouth, trying to reassure him. It wasn’t his fault. Not at all. “If that’s all Dr. Neville… I think it’s best to remove myself as of now. I apologize for how this might effect the rest of your evening. Truly.”

And with the Brendan turned around and walked away. Of course he’d wanted to give Vin a kiss. But he didn’t want to make Sean uncomfortable or strain things anymore than they already had been. He did hope that Vin thought to go back into the dance and retrieve Fifi. The poor girl had been standing in dance long enough waiting for Vin to return.

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