Me? Avoiding You? Pfft. (Closed)

[Mason McQueen]

Mason would be lying if he said the day isn’t turning out any greater than he’d wanted it to be.

Not only had Sam forgiven him (almost completely at that, or at least in his book anyway) for what might be the worst lapse in judgement he’s committed his entire life, but he’s also found a rather interesting tidbit about his best friend and self-defence instructor. Ever the child, this actually made the man rather giddy, thinking of all the (childish) ways he could get back at Sam for all those times he’s mocked and teased him about his crushes (and how he wouldn’t act on them).

Completely ignoring Josef’s intimidating-teacher look (he handles a class full of rowdy, hormonal teens at a daily basis, he argues, of course he’s immune to that already), he let out a chuckle and spoke, “While I feel a bit betrayed that my best friend told stories he should not tell about me behind my back, I won’t stoop down to his level.” He shot Sam a look that says ‘you’re dead’ before continuing, “I certainly won’t tell you about the time he went bonkers and looked utterly pathetic celebrating the first time a certain Francophone talked to him in high school. Partly because I’m a really good best friend, partly because I saw Sloane go through these doors a couple of times already.”

McQueen one, Caraway zero. Or so he thinks.

“You might have your work cut out for you Josef,” said Mason as he walked towards the mats to begin stretching, “Sam punches like a girl.” There’s a reason why Mason’s the one dealing with the angry boyfriends that chase after his best friend all throughout high school and partly through university. And it’s not just because he’s the more trustworthy-looking between the two.

Thank god the man still had enough self-control in him not to laugh at his best friend. He did, like his first time back with Levi, playfully nudge Sam while stretching, hoping it would throw the man off balance. “Better start easy Josef, Sam’s a little frail.”

Something tells me Mason isn’t doing a very good job being a wingman, isn’t he?

ooc:
I know. I know. >.<. Jam isn't all too proud of the quality and speed of this too. >.<
- Jam

[Josef Muller]

((I am soooo sorry this took so long.T_T))

Ah. Perhaps Mason had had long hair when he was young or something. Or perhaps it had to do with his meta power, or any number of things that might lead to a grown and not unattractive man being called “Rapunzel.” As Josef had gained a few nicknames back in school, he wasn’t going to judge. None of them had been as…interesting as that. A lot of them had been really rude.

Watching the two, Josef wondered if they’d made some kind of bet—who could annoy Josef the most (something he’d accused Levi and Mason of before), or perhaps whether Sam could…ahaha, no. He wasn’t going to go down that path. That smile of Sam’s was smug, and Josef wasn’t sure why. And Mason’s behavior was bizarre as well. But instead of commenting on it, he decided he’d just sit back and enjoy the show. It promised to be pretty entertaining.

He returned Sam’s grin with a smile of his own, gratified to see that he didn’t seem too interested— or afraid— of self-defense. Good! Another good sign and another nail into the coffin of the “abused” idea.

“Running away is the base lesson of self-defense,” he told Sam. “That’s the point. You only learn enough fighting to get away. Pride’s all well and good, but in the end running away with your bones still intact is always the better option. Still, throwing a punch is a good start. Maybe I can teach you a few more techniques.”

In a way, Josef felt a little bad for Sam. He hadn’t said anything bad about Mason, not really, and here Mason was telling embarrassing high school stories. Which continued to baffle Josef. He’d left with every indication of doing it so he and Sam could be alone. And now he appeared to be trying to stop anything from happening—or just make Sam upset. His brows climbed as he spoke, then he glanced over at Sam, and a slight smile curled up his lips.

“If you mean Sloane Deveraux,” he said mildly, “I do give her private lessons.” Which could sound bad, he recognized, except that Sloane held the same appeal to him as being a vegetarian—none at all. “I could ask if she would mind company if you want to become reacquainted.”

Not that he would. He knew his roommate’s feelings and planned to give him every chance possible. Just because his love life had hit rock-bottom didn’t mean he couldn’t support someone else’s.

If Mason was trying to help Sam win Josef’s favor, this was not the way to do it. Josef rolled his eyes at the nudge and shook his head, then went over to Sam.

“If you don’t know the stretches, you can just ask,” he pointed out with another smile. “Mason, try to behave for five seconds, will you? Sam, just follow my lead.” He did the basic ones for now. He hadn’t done yoga for a while, and so was a little stiff and not as flexible as he normally liked, but he could do the simple things—touching toes, balancing on one leg, arm stretches, and lunges, just to get in shape and not pull anything while actually sparring.

[Sam Caraway]

‘Sloane Devereaux,’ Sam said a trifle wistfully, pausing for a moment to gaze into the distance. He sighed, and looked over at Josef with mirth sparkling in his blue eyes. ‘I had the world’s biggest crush on her at school. You better keep her away, or she’ll think I’m a creeper.’ Not, perhaps, what one normally tells people one hardly knows – but Sam was a law unto himself, and he was feeling reckless. It had been startling for him to realise recently that he missed gambling, and he needed an outlet for the part of him that just wanted to take an action and wait for the consequences. ‘Also, please don’t tell her that I said that,’ he added. ‘I don’t want her getting the wrong idea.’

He didn’t want Josef getting the wrong idea, either. The last thing Sam needed was Josef thinking he was completely straight. If Sam was completely honest with himself (and he very rarely was, it has to be said), he had to admit to a certain lack of experience when it came to flirting with men, and anything that would put him at a disadvantage was definitely to be avoided. ‘And I do not punch like a girl,’ he added, attempting to come up with some example of his fighting prowess.

His thought process was somewhat interrupted by Mason nudging him – already a little precariously balanced, Sam almost toppled over. Luckily, however, he managed to save himself from falling and regain his footing, shooting Mason a smug look as the other man was told off by Josef.

Luck came in useful on so many occasions.

Doing his best to copy what Josef was doing, Sam went through the stretches. All in all, he didn’t think he did too bad a job of it – he could even make it almost to touching his toes, which was pretty impressive since he didn’t usually go for exercise. Mind you, he’d always attempted to put in a few hours at the gym every week, so he wasn’t entirely unfit. ‘Not bad, huh?’

So all was going well – going well, that was, until they got to the part where Sam had to stand on one leg. The thing was, Sam had been doing his best to sneak looks over at Josef now again when the older man wasn’t looking (because hell, Sam was only human, and it wasn’t like he got to do this kind of thing every day), and it transpired that he wasn’t as good as multi-tasking as he had thought. Or maybe he just wasn’t concentrating enough on what he was actually doing, because one minute he was standing like a grounded bird, arms out, and the next thing he knew he’d fallen over sideways: into Josef.

‘Sorry!’ It took Sam a moment to realise that he was on the floor, and that he was being cushioned somewhat by the person who, only minutes ago, he had been trying to impress. No time to enjoy it, though. Sam scrambled to his feet as quickly as he could and offered his hand to Josef. ‘I wish I could blame that on bad luck, but I think it’s just me,’ he told the other man sheepishly, shaking his head at his own lack of skill. ‘Won’t happen again!’ Sam added, offering his most winning smile.

Damn it.. He looked stupid, he felt stupid – and there was absolutely no way he was ever going to be able to convince Mason that he hadn’t done that on purpose.

OOC: I hope that I didn't powerplay too much there - and it's all in the name of comedy!

[Mason McQueen]

Josef’s ‘scolding’ somehow set the man back on track. He knew the man meant no harm (or did he?), but Mason felt rather embarrassed when Josef called him out. He’s supposed to be a grown man after all, and an instructor at that. He should’ve known that there’s a line between being funny and being annoying, no matter how fine and thin it is.

And to top it all off Sam didn’t even fall. How he wishes he could wipe that smirk off the man’s face really.

“Sorry Josef. Won’t happen again,” he said with a smile, which quickly vanished once the man turned around and began stretching. Like a kid, he stuck his tongue out at Sam, puffing his cheeks and pouting as he followed Josef’s lead. Touch his toes here, stretch his arms there. Bend over like this, hold it up like that. If it wasn’t for his yoga classes and the number of times he’s done it before, he’s pretty sure Sam would be laughing so hard at him already.

So focused was he on behaving and not bothering Sam for the time being that he didn’t see the man fall. He didn’t see the whole thing itself, but turned his head just in time to see them sprawled awkwardly on the floor before Sam scrambled to get up. As expected, the man burst into laughter, clutching his stomach as he shook his head.

He managed not to say anything out loud though, and instead gave Sam a playful punch on the shoulder when he finally got back on his feet. “By the way, I don’t think anyone’s ever told me how you two met each other. Who knows, I might be dishing stuff out that I think is embarrassing, but Sam’s already made a big fool of himself (like what he did just now) the first time around?”

[Josef Muller]

Ah, he hadn’t meant to make Mason uncomfortable. He really hadn’t meant any harm—it had just been a joke. He knew the man well and knew he would behave when he needed to, but getting him to focus had been and would probably continue to be a difficult task. Teacher, yes, but Josef suspected that he compensated for getting the kids in his class to behave by being difficult in his. But as Sam and Mason were the only ones there, he shrugged it off and decided not to worry about it too much.

So he didn’t notice the smug look or Mason making faces at Sam. Probably for the best. Instead, he just did the stretches, corrected when necessary, and allowed his tired mind to drift. This he could do in his sleep. There wasn’t much need to focus.

But it seemed like there was after all. Because one minute he was balancing on one leg, absently counting the time that he was supposed to remain in that position, and the next he felt something knocking into him. He hastily bit off an oath as he hit the floor—and in spite of all his training on how to fall right it still hurt—and blinked up at the man who had fallen on him, bemused to find that it was Sam. Hm. That made the situation better. Well, somewhat. Except he could tell that Mason was laughing. Oh well. You couldn’t win them all. His lips twitched into a smile as he propped himself on his elbows, watching Sam climb to his feet.

“It’s fine,” he said, taking Sam’s hand and pulling himself to his feet. So he wasn’t clumsy either? Or wasn’t blaming it on being clumsy. That was interesting. After the other night, Josef wouldn’t have been surprised. So probably not abused. Apparently didn’t think of himself as clumsy—and definitely didn’t carry himself like he was. So that could lead to…

Well, he was too bruised to think about it right now. Falling sure hurt more now than it did when he was younger. Shame.

“I would say it happens a lot, but I think that might be a new one.” He flashed the man a smile to show he was joking, then absently rubbed his shoulder. “I think we’re going to have to work on your balance. Or my reflexes. Normally I try to catch people who fall.” Mm. That could sound bad. He cleared his throat and eyed Mason, wondering when he was going to stop laughing. It hadn’t been that funny. And when Mason did and finally spoke, he laughed.

“Falling over happens, Mason. C’mon, be fair.” He glanced at Sam, as if debating how much to say, then decided to play it safe. “Well, it was a meeting that I won’t forget in a hurry, that’s for sure.”

[Sam Caraway]

See, this was why Sam didn’t tend to do any kind of organised exercise. By himself he was fine, but if you tried to put him in a room with other people doing the same thing, he would always be the useless one at the back. He’d had the same problem in school P.E lessons, but towards the end of his life at Hammel he had miraculously always been able to avoid those (it was amazing how every one of his power training sessions took place when he should have been in the sports hall), and as a result he was very much out of practise. Things like this were a bit of a nightmare.

Except, of course, when you had an attractive teacher to fall onto when you lost your balance.

Oh, you can catch me anytime, was the one phrase Sam would have loved to say in reply to Josef’s words – but for some reason he held back. Probably because he didn’t want to be quite that obvious in front of Mason. It was, after all, the height of bad manners for someone to flirt that much when they should be dividing their attention between two people. Besides, saying something like that would just make his best friend laugh, and that wasn’t something Sam wanted to do. Mason was already on his way to laughing himself into some kind of serious injury, and Sam didn’t want to be responsible for that kind of disaster.

He looked over at Mason with a grin. ‘I told you, Stevie, I managed to spill a full pint of our teacher’s beer over myself,’ he flashed a rueful grin at Josef, apologising mutely again for what had happened. ‘Then of course I had to buy him a drink, and Josef very kindly put up with my company for an hour….’ What? He wasn’t going to give Mason a blow-by-blow of the events of their meeting – his eyes warned his best friend not to say a word about the fact that he had been having a Bad Luck Day at the time. The use of that expression would be something he would have to explain, and Sam didn’t relish the thought of that.

‘…which he probably now regrets.’ Sam smiled at Josef, and then adopted what he hoped looked like a ‘fighting’ stance. Time for a change of subject – it was the very least he could do for Mason, after all, who looked as if he may never breathe again. ‘So, when do we get to the cool stuff?’

OOC: Aaaah, so sorry it’s so late!

[Mason McQueen]

For someone who’s supposedly as smart as Mason, the man has a hard time putting two and two together when it comes to stories told to him and the things he’s seeing. “Ooh. So Josef was the guy you were talking about when you had a Ba—” The man was once again about to say something that would’ve been rather hard to explain; thank god he saw that look on Sam’s face and quickly stopped where he’s at. “—When you were off being your klutzy self, which is like, everyday anyway,” he added with a smirk, hoping that wouldn’t be too obvious.

Why Sam’s always going all secret-y about his abilities is beyond Mason. Not that it’s a problem anyway.

“By ‘cool stuff’ you mean getting your butt kicked? Well, I think Josef wants to keep it cool for you at the moment. You know, he wouldn’t want you getting all bruised and battered on your first day in,” said the man with a wink, grinning widely as he saw Josef look at him.

-timeskipbecauseJam’sacheater-

“And I’m done,” muttered Mason a good hour later, his sweaty self flopping lifelessly on the mats. Even with a helmet and a pair of gloves on he still feels rather sore, and he could’ve sworn he’s bruised all over. “Since when did you learn how to punch like that?” Yes, apparently they Mason roped Josef into letting them spar. As if that’s something new. “Though I am ahead by a lot, right Josef?” If he loses oh he wouldn’t know what he’d do.

It took a while for the man to get himself up, laughing at the soreness he’s currently feeling. Once up, he gave his back a quick stretch before grabbing his bag. “I’ll go get changed. Josef, you doing anything after? Sam’s coming by my house for dinner, want to join us?”

ooc:
EEEP. Hope you guys don't mind the HUUUUUUUUUUGE GM I employed. Feel free to shout at me for it should you want me to change it. -nodnod- >.<
- Jam

[Josef Muller]

It had not been a smooth cover up, and the look Josef gave Mason indicated just that. Although he did wonder why ‘Stevie’ had been added to Mason’s ever-growing stack of nicknames. One day, he’d be able to figure out why Sam gave Mason all those nicknames. He was sure there were some great stories behind them all. He’d never gotten any. Mostly because he’d been too boring to. But that was all right in his books. He liked his name and he didn’t mind being called by it.

So Sam had mentioned it? He offered the other man a smile to show that no harm had been done and leaned against the wall, half-listening to the words as he tugged on his shoulder until he felt it shift back into its proper position with a slight pop. Not a good sound, but at least the conversation had covered it up. And he came back into the conversation just as Sam was smiling at him again, and he laughed. “Never,” he said. “It was an interesting experience, that’s for sure. And I guess we start the cool stuff now. But I’m afraid Mason’s wrong.” His smile might have been called wicked by some. “First day’s one of the hardest.”

And it was true. He wasn’t a ruthless teacher, but he also didn’t let up. He corrected stances, positions, punches, dragged them through exercises and then, at their (mostly Mason’s) insistence, had let them spar. He’d fetched one of his staves to lean against by the time they were done, and grinned at Mason as he flopped down on the mat. He loved doing stuff like this. It was the only thing he was really good at.

“I lost count after a while,” he admitted with a shrug. “I think it was a draw. Or something of that sort. But you both did well.”

He hesitated at the invitation to dinner, glancing between the two. It did sound wonderful. But partially due to old wariness, and also because he knew he had other obligations, he shook his head. “Thanks for the offer, Mason, but no. I have classes to teach until ten. Perhaps some other time.” He glanced over at Sam. “How are you holding up? I hope we weren’t too hard on you. I’d like you to come back at some point.” He wasn’t even sure if that was an invitation or the business owner speaking. Best, he decided, not to think about it.

[Sam Caraway]

Since when did Sam learn to punch like that? ‘Since I started having to beat up girls who hit on my sister,’ he told his friend with an evil smirk, unable to resist just one more dig on that subject. It was going to be a very long time before Sam properly let that one rest, and he wasn’t above bickering in front of someone he barely knew when it came to the subject of Kali and Mason. Still, Mason had managed to beat him in that sparring session, and Sam was man enough to admit it: ‘Nah, bro, you’re ahead,’ he told Mason, probing a spot on his side where the other man had scored a kick.

He didn’t even bother to hide his expression when Mason invited Josef for dinner – he was behind Josef at this point, and felt confident that the older man couldn’t see him. They had no such plans for dinner, and Mason knew it – Sam raised an eyebrow at him, while trying to suppress a chuckle. Of course, he assumed a straight face when Josef glance towards him: he’d had too much practise not to. But he was surprised at the tinge of regret he felt when Josef declined Mason’s offer.

‘Not at all - I enjoyed it!’ Sam told the older man when a question was directed towards him. He smiled warmly, and reached out to shake Josef’s hand. ‘I look forward to coming back.’

By this point, Mason had returned from getting changed – Sam followed him out to the car, and turned to him the moment the doors had closed on them. ‘Dinner?’ he asked, looking over at his friend with the beginnings of a smile in his expression. ‘Ten out of ten for style, but minus several million for subtlety. He totally guessed you were making it up.’ This probably wasn’t true, but being rebuffed made Sam overly talkative – and in a way, he felt that Josef had done just that. The other man hadn’t seemed regretful at all when he’d said no, and that had put Sam considerably on the defensive. Still, he had to admit that Mason had been trying to do him a favour – as his friend turned the key and the engine started up, Sam looked over with a grin. ‘It was a nice try, Rapunzel. Thanks.’

Man enough to admit when he was beaten, but not man enough to thank someone without becoming self-conscious. Sam rapped a hand on the dashboard of the car, and looked out at the Vermont roads. ‘Shut up and drive, Hairy Mary! You owe me dinner…’

[Mason McQueen]

Mason shrank visibly when Sam mentioned that again. He thought they were over that already? True it hasn’t been a day, but still! Then he saw the smile on Sam’s face, and heard him admitting that he did win (because he knows he did, he was just checking to see if Josef would have any bias – and he sure did! HA!), and somehow it made everything better. “Haha! Add that to the already long list of times I kicked your sorry butt Caraway,” grinned the ten year-old boy trapped in a thirty year-old man’s body as he did what he insists is some sort of a victory dance. (More of a leg-and-arm-flail combo if you ask me).

Surprisingly enough, the man’s managed to keep a straight face despite the funny looks his best friend was giving him behind their teacher’s shoulder, nodding thoughtfully and even believably sighing when Josef turned down his offer. “Aww. Next time then,” he replied, giving Josef a pat on the shoulder, “Maybe we should put that in as a bet next time. Dinner on us if you win, on you if we do.” Sounds fairly reasonable, right? “You work too hard bro-sir.” And with one final smirk, the man-boy disappeared to the locker rooms.

After leaving Josef with a few words (about bringing a few more friends along, and dragging Levi’s sorry butt out of his bed to join them next time), he finally got into the car and laughed almost instantly when he heard Sam’s accusations. “What? He was sooo buying it,” answered the man as he started the engine, “I kept a straight face. You, on the other hand, didn’t. You should’ve just went with it you know. Tsk tsk. Since when did you learn to doubt me?”

“Dinner? What dinner? No Josef no dinner,” added Mason as they drove off, “Unless of course you’ll be cooking. Vegas taught you how to cook without burning half the house, right?”

[/justify]
ooc:
Wrapped? Heehee. -smoochies for you guys-
- Jam[/font]