Bacon makes everything better (Julian)

[Thyme Ersilia]

Thyme sighed at his still healing arm. The bite that Cassie had given him no longer hurt, but it seemed as if it was taking forever to heal. The boy wanted to believe that maybe she spit some kind of strange chemical that made wounds heal slower. Ty had really felt it necessary to press charges against the girl, but since the wound was not serious, Sage begged him to forgive her. It was obvious the girl had some strange attachment to his cousin, but it wasn’t really his problem. He had his own issues to deal with, after all.

After re-bandaging his wound, Thyme felt his stomach growl and decided there wasn’t really any better time to eat. The cafeteria would be lacking in people during this early hour, and that was now he liked it. He would get to eat in peace without worrying so much about shocking other people and he would get first picks on food. Today was a special day for breakfast too, since there was bacon being served, and the platter was already making him drool in excitement. Thyme was sure to load plenty of bacon onto his plate, earning a few strange looks from the lunch ladies, but he blissfully walked to an empty table, munching on his treat.

The quiet had been nice, but he knew it was not meant to last forever, and unlike the usual days, he was suddenly joined by someone, and his blue-green eyes lifted to the person.

“I didn’t take all the bacon. There is still plenty”

He didn’t any judgment for his unhealthy eating, but he didn’t want anyone snatching his bacon either.

[Julian Wes]

Julian had been unable to sleep the night before. It wasn’t unusual for him, but he certainly did hate it. Any time he was alone it left him a nagging feeling. And if her thought about it too much, he’d know he wasn’t happy with his life currently. Mostly because one very important person was missing from it. Dylan. Dylan who made everything fun, everything an adventure. His best friend was still in Switzerland and Julian had yet to find somebody who meant as much to him.

But there was nothing he could do about it. Sure, he wrote to him, talked to him on the phone, texted him, and chatted online (yes, Julian knew their ‘friendship’ was a different one). So instead of focusing on missing him, Julian threw himself into his studies and helping people who thought needed it and forcing his attachment to people that he wasn’t actually fond of.

Then there were times like this, when he had to spend the night awake and alone. In an attempt to busy his mind, he’d spent the night in the student lounge. Watching TV was mindless and he thought most of the shows on nowadays were… Ridiculous. Especially that one with the orange, dwarf of a girl. The one everybody compared to an oompa loompa. Mostly, he strummed his guitar. And wrote in his notebook. He used that to track things about the people he was helping, but for now he was using it help decide who he should help.

When he noticed the sun had risen, he packed up his things and headed back to his room. After putting away his things, showering, and getting dressed for the day, he headed to the cafeteria. As he got his food, a bowl of fruity pebbles with milk and a banana muffin and a cup of coffee, he toyed with the idea of taking a jog around the school.

He was about to take a seat at a table near the door, but he spotted another lone early morning bird. And suddenly his spirits were lifted, a smile on his face. Trotting over to the other boy’s table, he tried very hard not to giggle at all the bacon he’d taken. Didn’t bother him any. Though… The boy seemed less than willing to have company when he spoke.

“I… I don’t eat bacon?” Julian stared down at the boy, rather confused. “So yeah. Feel free to enjoy what you have.” He made a note to not make a joke about him eating so much bacon. “Actually, I was actually thinking, perhaps you’d like some company? See I’m new here and haven’t met a lot of people yet.”

[Thyme Ersilia]

Thyme wasn’t sure why he was so protective of his bacon. Most often commented on how it was bad for his health, but maybe he was so paranoid about being judged for his habits as of lately, thanks to Taitum, that he had grown a bit defensive. When Julian responded by saying that he did not even eat bacon and to enjoy what he had, he felt a bit bad. He must have seemed like such as fatass for telling off someone over a plate of bacon.

“Well…good then. Bacon’s not good for you anyways…”

Thyme felt like such a hypocrite for saying it, but at least it would get him back onto better terms with the person he just met, right? The boy was looking for company, and Ty didn’t really care so long as he didn’t bite, punch, smash cake in his face, or lecture him about his bad habits.

The blond knew it was not easy being the new kid, so he felt a bit of sympathy as he remembered what it had been like when he first arrived. He used to be somewhat shy and antisocial, but now he had become what one might describe as a ‘flirtatious, cocky jerk’. Well, at least it was better than not being known, right? Ty sighed and threw the boy a piece of bacon, a very generous gesture from him.

“But you should try it. It’ll change your life”

[Julian Wes]

Taking the fact that the kid actually talked to him instead of ignoring him as an ok, Julian sat down. He seemed kind of… As if he was in a foul mood, so Jules took note to tread carefully and try not to push any of his buttons.

It seemed odd that he was eating bacon, if he was telling others it was unhealthy. “I guess so… But who the hell cares? I mean if it’s good, eat the junk out of it, right?” Not that he entirely agreed with that. Sure, when he was having a bad day, he’d chub out on his favorite food, fries dunked in a chocolate milkshake. Talk about unhealthy?

Chuckling, he said “Well, thanks.” He picked up the piece of bacon, holding it back out to him. “But I won’t take your food. I’ve tried it before, just not a fan. It’s really any pig. Don’t like ham or pork either. It’s the damnedest thing.”

“Now… If you want life changing food… You should try fries dunked in chocolate shake. It’s a gift from God himself!” Immediately, he kinda regretted the whole ‘god’ comment though. It’s not like Jules actually believed in that. But he got uncomfortable when talking about his religious beliefs. Some people didn’t respond well to it.

So he decided to change the subject quickly. “I’m Julian by the way. Or Jules. I phase.” He thought maybe throwing his ability in there would help along the change in subject.

[Thyme Ersilia]

Thyme gaped, as if shocked that anyone could have a dislike for bacon. So, the saying that ‘everyone likes bacon’ was a lie? It wasn’t really like he expected the boy to take it or anything, but he had not run into many, except for the vegetarians or whatever vegans were, that did not like bacon at least a little bit. Thyme had a rather ethnocentric point of view when it came to his meat, but he never pushed his thoughts onto anyone else.

Instead of taking what was offered, Julian suggested his favorite food, which did not sound bad at all to Ty. Similar to bacon, hardly anyone disliked fries and chocolate, but putting them together? The possibilities were endless. Thyme took another bite of his breakfast before nodding to the other boy after his introduction.

“Thyme, but you can call me Ty. And next time I have fries and a chocolate shake, I’m so trying that…just saying”

He shrugged and faintly wondered what bacon tasted like when dipped into a chocolate shake, but that experiment would have to wait for another time.

“So when did you get here? I haven’t seen you around lately”

[Julian Wes]

When the boy gaped at him, Julian couldn’t help but laugh. It wasn’t the first time he’d gotten such a reaction from somebody discovering he didn’t like bacon. Actually, it was rather common. And he quickly explained, “Don’t get me wrong. I love meat. Put a good steak between us and I’ll take you down if you try to eat it. But pig… Bacon, ham, pork.” He shrugged.

Idly, he wondered if it was because he’d always wanted a pet teacup pig. But Julian didn’t mention it to him. No reason to ruin the other kid’s favorite food with the thought of an adorable little animal face looking up at him from his plate of food.

“Ty it is. And you should! It’s freakin’ amazing! Salty and sweet and chocolaty… I don’t think there’s a greater gift in this world.” Yes, being a little obsessive about great food… That was a secret of Julian’s. He loved to gorge himself on mouth watering treats. But honestly, who didn’t?

And there’d been some great food at the school over winter break. Food that he hadn’t needed to share with many people, because the school was rather deserted.

“Yeah, that’s not surprising. I got here after everybody had already left for break. My mom and siblings went to Switzerland. And my dad he… Well he travels a lot.” The boy explained. It wasn’t really a lie parse that his dad traveled. Julian thought about it as… Editing. He was going to keep the fact that his dad was touring quiet while he could.

“What about you? How long have you been here for?”

[Thyme Ersilia]

Ty at least agreed with Julian regarding steak. Steak was the other food that he considered one of God’s greatest creations, and this along with the recommendation for fries in a chocolate shake were more than enough to help him disregard the earlier comments about not liking bacon. In fact, when Julian described the different flavors involved, Ty’s mouth began to water. It all sounded delicious, and he could not wait to experiment later.

The boy explained a little bit more about his situation and why they had never run into each other before, but Ty rose his eyebrows a bit at the words.

“Switzerland? Do they have good cheese there? Like Swiss cheese? And why does your dad travel?”

He loaded the other boy with questions before answering his own.

“I’ve been here 4 years now. Long enough. Can’t wait to graduate and be free”

[Julian Wes]

“Yeah, Switzerland. I lived there for a few years. But then we moved here a few years ago.” And the younger boy chuckled. He’d heard that question before. “Yeah, we have really great cheeses. But we call them different things. Like Swiss Cheese is actually called Emmental. Sbrinz is my favorite though. We use it like you most Americans use Parmesan. It has to age for about two years though.” Julian’s knowledge on cheeses wasn’t accidental. He loved cheese.

He become a tad uncomfortable when asked why his dad traveled. Julian really hated lying. It set up a possible friendship up to fail from the beginning in his opinion. After clearing his throat, he said, “My uh- my dad’s a musician.” Though, he wasn’t sure it was something to worry about here. He’d told a girl the other day and she didn’t seem to know anything about the band his father was a member of. He could only assume they weren’t popular in America. “But they really aren’t big over here. They aren’t somebody you’d have heard of.” The boy added quickly, hoping that would be enough to satisfy the other boy’s curiosity.

“Wow, four years, huh? I think by then I’d be ready to get out of here too. But I’m good being here for now. Kinda nice, ya’ know?”

Taking a bite of his fruit, he asked, “So where have you lived before?” Most people asked ‘Where are you from?’ But Julian didn’t feel like that covered enough. Yeah, Julian had lived in Switzerland, but that wasn’t until he was ten. He’d lived in a lot of different places though. So simply asking ‘where are you from?’ didn’t necessarily reveal a lot about a person.

[Thyme Ersilia]

Ty was actually surprised at Julian’s knowledge of cheese. Then again, he might’ve just been a boy who enjoyed food as much as he did. They were both still growing after all. He didn’t understand the girls and how they would go without eating to lose a few pounds. It wasn’t like it made that much of a difference.

Despite his love for food, Thyme did not eat this badly on a regular basis. He has a figure to maintain, and with a little bit of healthier eating (after a good pig out) and some running every day on top of track practices, he was healthy and beautiful.

Hearing that Julian’s father was a musician was also something that surprised him. If he was travelling to do concerts or something, then that meant he was successful, and there were getting rarer to come by. However, as much as he felt inclined to ask, the other boy did not seem willing to talk about it and behaved as if it were forbidden territory. Maybe he wanted to just be thought of as a normal kid. That was understandable. They all did, after all.

“Yeah, I guess it’s not so bad here. I don’t like the curfew though…I’m not a kid…but everyone else seems to think I am”

Julian asked where he was from, and Ty finished off his bacon before he answered.

“I’m from Florida. I hardly travelled before I came here, so I’ve pretty much never been anywhere. Wouldn’t mind eating cheese in Switzerland someday...”

[Julian Wes]

The young relaxed a bit when Ty didn’t ask about his dad. It was sometimes problematic for friendships or other relationships that Julian tried to form. He wanted friends, really he did. And when he was younger, the easiest way to find ‘friends’ was to tell them your father was a member of popular European band. But that always came back to bite you in the ass. And then when you did keep it quiet, only to tell somebody later on, it made them feel like you’d been lying to them. Julian was still trying to figure out a good way to go about it.

Julian nodded in agreement with the other boy about curfew. He himself wasn’t used to it. His mother had trusted him, rightfully so, and let him come and go as he pleased. Of course, he had to check in, let her know where he was. But he didn’t actually have a set curfew. Some might call it ‘lazy parenting’. He wasn’t the kind of kid to cause trouble though. “Yeah, the curfew does suck. I mean, my mom didn’t care how late I was out when I was at home.” With a shrug of his shoulders, he spooned some of his grapefruit out and popped it into his mouth.

“Florida? So beaches and Disney World?” He smiled, nodding. He’d been to Florida before. Though, in the summer months, it was flippin’ murder there. The overwhelming heat wasn’t something he handled well. He dehydrated too easily. Plus he was pale. Burned like bacon in a frying pan.

Chuckling, he nodded. “Oh yeah… Definitely should. But if you really want good eats, I say Italy over Switzerland any day. But I’m more fore Italian food myself.” He said, revealing yet another place he’d been.