I Want My Dollar Back (Open)

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Ok, break time......

............

Nao should probably be doing something other than just sitting in the student lounge staring at the wall.

............it was a really white wall.

Naozumi shook his head and returned his gaze to the blank sheet of notebook paper laying before him. He should probably be working on his history homework but....that was just so boring. He'd managed to get the interesting stuff out of the way really quick, no problem but...when it came to history, Nao's brain just seemed to slow down to a snails pace.

Nao sighed. Maybe his brain would function if he got himself a soda or something? There were vending machines in the student lounge. That's what they were there for, right?

He stood from the chair and strolled over to the cola machine and stared at it. Then he reached into his pocket, procured a dollar, and slipped it into the receiver, then pushed the button for a coke.

Nothing came out.

The "sold-out' light wasn't on. The machine seemed to be running. Nao pushed the "return change" button.

Nothing happened.

Naozumi stood there, silently steaming, as he stared at the machine that had dared to offend him.

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Since Phoenix had found Lux at the student lounge the other day, he was starting to develop a habit of coming down to relax by himself for a bit when Oriel began kicking him out for 'fawning too much' over him. He knew he was smothering his boyfriend in a lot of attention and affection but... He couldn't help it! He was so glad Oriel was back and alive that he just couldn't contain himself sometimes.

But apparently it was a little too much, as his lover made clear when he forced Phen out of the bedroom to fend for himself.

And so Phoenix sat with a little scowl, arms crossed over his chest as he blankly stared at the television; he wasn't even really paying attention to what was on. The room was pretty quiet apart from a couple of students milling around, which he was thankful for. The pixie-winged boy still got twitchy around crowds, especially when he was by himself.

His attention was slowly drawn to a boy that had moved to one of the vending machines and was still standing there after some time had passed.

Curiosity drawn, Phen scooted over to watch, staring for another moment or two before clearing his throat and offering a meek,"Is it givin' you trouble too?" He had tried to buy something the other day, and the machine had eaten his change. "Um, it should work if you hold down the button longer. 'Least, it did for me." He rubbed the back of his neck as his cheeks flushed, unsure why he was offering advice to a stranger.

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Naozumi was probably standing there for a good two minutes, wondering if he should get a teacher, give up, or punch the blasted thing. He could probably punch his way out of this situation, it's worked before(though he did get a trip to the principles office for doing that).

He continued to stand there, spacing out over what he was going to do.

Nao was gently removed from his daydream to the sound of a soft voice that seemed to be giving the helpless boy some advice. "Oh…" he said in an equally soft voice. That made sense, he though as his gaze returned to the machine that was twice his height. Naozumi followed his advice and pressed down the "Coke" button, holding it until the machine decided to respond.

*Clunk Clunk Thump*

Nao's eyes went bright as he was finally blessed with the soda that would ensure his progress on his history homework.

He knelt down and picked up the can of soda and returned to the helpful individual. "Thank you," he said with a meek smile. He stood there for a moment longer than was necessary, staring pleasantly down at the other boy before returning to his seat at the table.

Nao set the soda can on top of the table, popped back the lid….

*FTZZZZZZZZZ*

He blinked as he watched the dark brown sugary fluid spray all over the table….and all over his homework….and himself.

……darn.

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Phen got a good look at the boy, trying to determine if he knew him; if he did, he couldn't recall his name. He was awfully little and adorable, though, he couldn't help but think. Nodding as Nao responded, he watched the younger guy try out his advice and smiled faintly as it worked.

He allowed himself a tiny spark of pride at being able to help someone. But just a little.

Phen's smile brightened a little as the boy approached, and he nodded again. "Y-you're welcome," he replied, voice wavering a little nervously; he wasn't used to being thanked. He fidgeted at the prolonged moment of silence and glanced away, wondering if he should say something else before the other boy went back to his work.

Letting out a breath, Phen was just about to settle back down into his sulking when the familiar fizz caught his attention, and he blinked back over at the table. Oh, no~!

"L-Let me help you," he stammered, wobbling on his skinny legs. He went over to the nearest paper-towel dispenser and grabbed a couple handfuls, quickly hurrying back and dumping them on the liquid mess. "Um... You have some... On your shirt... And pants..." he mumbled, taking a few more paper towels and offering them to Nao to clean himself. He wasn't going to touch the stranger unless he wanted him to.

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Well….this was unfortunate. The can of soda had made a complete mess all over the table. Nao just stared at it, a bit dumbfounded, though the the onlooking outsider, he might have just looked like he was spacing out and unsure of what to do next.

Before he could react accordingly, however, the same older boy who had given him the advice for the machine stumbled over with paper towels to help clean up.

Wow…he was really nice.

Naozumi took the paper towels from the boy and started meticulously wiping down his shirt and pants. Darn, this was going to stain if he didn't get to washing them soon. But it was still the middle of the day…he'd have to let them soak overnight….maybe.

It'd probably be fine.

"Thank you," he said again. "You're really nice." He looked up at the other boy with a meek smile, his tiny dimples just barely showing. As quickly as it appeared, it was gone, and Nao looked down at his schoolwork with his normal relaxed expression. "I'm not sure what to do about this though."

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Phoenix hovered uncertainly, unsure of what else he could do to help. He felt sort of silly just going back to watch the TV now, but at least he was no longer sulking. And he felt a little useful.

He scuffed his foot against the ground, cheeks flushing at the second thanks. "No problem," he mumbled, a shy smile touching his lips. You're really nice. His head snapped up to look at Nao at this statement, his lips parted in shock at hearing those words come from someone's mouth. Had he ever been called nice before? Ever?

"Th... Thanks," he replied shyly, hands falling inside of his pockets as he hunched his shoulders self-consciously. "I just... Know I'd want help too..."

He trailed off as the boy looked away, wondering if that was his cue to leave. But he spoke up again, and Phen bit his lip, brow furrowing. Well, he was no help there. "Sorry... I'm not sure either," he mumbled. "You might just need to... Write it all again...." Which was very unfortunate.

"Um," he continued, tugging a hand out of his pockets and offering it meekly. "I'm Phoenix, by the way. I don't think we've met." The boy looked several years younger than him; it wouldn't be a surprise. Also, he was quite adorable. Phen almost wanted to take him back to Oriel and ask if they could keep him.

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Nao didn't notice the reaction the older boy gave in response to his praise. But, Nao's opinion was that anyone who wasn't deliberately trying to antagonize and push and prod him was nice, even that girl from the other day who was just angry. But she still answered his question and wasn't going out of her way to be mean to him(though she was going out of her way to avoid talking to people), so Nao still declared her as nice.

Though he did not like hearing that he would have to do all that work over again….though he did understand that there wasn't much else he could do. Nao sighed, his stoic line of a mouth arching down into a faint frown.

Nao glanced down at the offered hand, then slowly up to look the older boy in the face. "I'm Naozumi," he said, taking Phoenix's hand with a firm grip despite his tiny palms. His lips curled into a baby smile. "It's nice to meet you." Could this be a friendship on the horizon? he wondered.

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Phen sympathized with Nao, especially seeing the small frown on his face thinking that he'd have to do the work all over. Phen wished there was something he could do, but... What could he do? He wondered if Oriel's ability would be any help... If the stuff was written in ink, would he be able to fix it? Hmm...

"N-nice to meet you too, Naozumi," he replied softly, trying to keep himself from squealing over how adorably little and cute he was. He dropped his hand and glanced away, scuffing a foot against the ground. Now what? It seemed awkward just to leave. "Um..." He started, rubbing the back of his head. "Maybe you could use a break? I was gonna head up to my room and grab a danish..." And also check on Oriel, because he was a worried mother hen. "You can come and have one too, if you'd like."

And maybe he could trap the little guy in his room and ask Oriel to keep him as an adorable pet! Muahahaha! But really, Phen was just captivated by the cute.

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He wasn't going to complain about the homework, but that didn't mean he was happy about it. He would do it later, he supposed. For now, Naozumi felt like rage-quitting the assignment until further notice. He'd just keep the papers here until they dried and save them for future use. Yeah, that sounded like a plan.

But what quickly turned his mood better was how nice this person was and continued to be. He was like an older brother…if Nao knew what having an older brother was like. Naozumi was the older brother in his family, and while perpetually quiet, he did the best he could to aid his younger siblings.

And his mood was even further turned with the offering of food.

Fooooood.

Nao nodded his head eagerly, clearly liking the idea despite his unsmiling face.

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Seeing the eager nod, despite the lack of a smile, made Phen's own lips quirk up, and he jerked his head in the direction of the dorms. "W-well, then, um... I guess you can leave your homework here or take it with us, I'm not sure." He shrugged, taking a step back. "I'm probably gonna stay there once we get there, though..." That was, if Oriel 'let' him; Phen hadn't been gone all that long. But at least he'd met someone!

Leading the way, he started walking down the hall, his thin, jean-clad legs making quick, delicate steps down the hall and outside. "S-so, um, how long have you been at Hammel?" he asked. Phen wasn't sure how old he was, but he seemed awfully young. He could have manifested not too long ago, and Phoenix didn't remember seeing him around before (though that didn't necessarily mean anything - Phen hardly knew anyone).

He held the door open to the dorms and trotted upstairs to the co-eds, quickly opening the door to his common room and opening the cupboards. He nabbed a box on the top shelf and tugged it down, opening it to reveal several various types of danishes. "Help y-yourself, I'm just gonna..." Phen pointed to his door before darting over, peeking his head inside. For all he knew, Oriel might not even be there anymore; although Phen hoped he would have at least let him know or something.

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"I'll take it with me," he decided. Nao wasn't about to leave his stuff lying around for other people to take when he wasn't looking. He'd been the victim of treatment like that in the past and, needless to say, he'd learned from it. He packed it up quickly, pressing the soppen pages between paper towels then placing them carefully into his backpack.

Nao followed Phoenix through the hall towards the dorms. "Not very long. Just a few days." Maybe about a week. And he was still getting used to life at Hammel. Living with other people wasn't the problem, but living in such a large institution was. He got lost easily.

But this guy at least seemed to know where he was going. Nao make sure to keep close. Phoenix lived on a different floor than Naozumi did, the co-eds. His place was nice inside too, though it didn't really look much different than his own dorm room. He watched in awe as Phoenix reached up to the top shelf and pulled down a box, feeling very envious of his height. Naozumi would have had to climb up on the counters to reach that.

He gave a silent nod to Phoenix as the other boy departed to the bedrooms; Nao had no idea what he was doing, but at least there was food. He did just as Phoenix suggested and helped himself.

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Phen glanced back as Nao responded with how long he'd been at Hammel, gawking a little. "That's not very long at all," he murmured. "Are you settlin' in okay, and, um, everything?" He remembered very well how hard the change could be; fortunately, Rue had swooped into his life very soon after he'd arrived, which had helped tremendously, until... Well, that was a chapter of Phen's life that was over and done with. "If you, um, need help with anythin', I'd be happy t'do what I can," he offered quietly. He wasn't generally very helpful, but he'd do his best.

Phen had definitely noticed the boy's height, but didn't really think anything of his own; he was about average. Hell, Oriel was about the same as him now, and Phoenix couldn't help but wonder if he wasn't going to be the taller one after a while longer. Which... He was fine with.

Speaking of Oriel.... "Babe, you here?" he mumbled as he peeked his head inside. Assuming he was, Phen stepped a little further inside and darted over to the bed, smothering his lover's face with kisses. "How are you feelin'?" Fawning, Phoenix was getting good at it. "I found this adorable little guy in the student lounge, he's out in the common room eatin' danishes...." He trailed off, realizing how weird that sounded. "He's super super cute and little!"

Whether Oriel followed him or not, Phen went back out to see Nao nomming down on the danishes, and grabbed one himself, nibbling slowly like he always did. "So, um, what's your ability?" he asked, hoping it wasn't a sensitive subject. There was always the chance it was.

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While Nao was left in the kitchen, he continued to consume the danishes one after the other, having absolutely no regulation for ingesting them. The boy had a void of a stomach.

Oriel, on the other hand, was in his room massaging his ankle which was still sore and discolored from the snake bite he'd gotten almost two weeks ago. It was healing, slowly but surely, but Oriel was going a little bit crazy(thought not as crazy as he used to be) waiting for it to heal and not being able to do the things he wanted to do when he wanted to do them. "What?" he called back with a slight harshness in his voice, though truthfully he was glad to hear Phen's voice again so soon. He accepted the kisses with a smile, returning a few of his own, and started rewrapping his foot. "Fine…just frustrated," he answered with surprising honesty. Oriel raised an eyebrow at Phoenix's report. "Huh? What'd you pick up this time and who said you could whore out my stash of danishes?" Phen was talking about this 'little guy' like he'd just found a kitten and Oriel was half inclined to thing that might have been the case. He finished with his foot and slowly eased himself out into the common room to find this pet that Phen was speaking of.

The danishes were almost gone. Oriel was not amused.

Naozumi looked over at the new boy who had entered the room and nearly swooned. Oh my! This one was even better than the other tall dark and handsome boy he'd met a few days ago, that Monroe character! Naozumi stared at him, with a few crumbs of the danish lingering off his lips. He snapped back to Phoenix after a moment however, and barely managed an answer, though quickly brought his eyes back to the new arrival. "Um…speed, I think. I think that's what they said," he explained distractedly. Nao took another bite of the danish.

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Phoenix pouted a little hearing Oriel's voice call out none-so-gently, but then again, what had he expected? Oriel had chased him out, after all - Phen just couldn't help his hovering. When he saw his boyfriend massaging his ankle, he pressed his cool palm against the area, lifting up the fabric of his jeans a little to reveal the dark splotches that ran up his leg. "It's looking good," he said softly. He leaned down and kissed the area where Erik had bitten into his lover, uncaring of the discolored skin. "I'm sure you'll be back to your old self in no time." He smiled as Oriel responded to what he'd said, standing straight again. "Hey, I got those for you... So technically, they're mine t'give away," he said cheekily. He gave Oriel another smooch on the cheek for good measure. "I can always get you more," he murmured. Phoenix hovered like the pixie he was around Oriel when the boy stood, keeping close in case he needed any help for any reason, but he seemed to be doing alright.

Phen didn't realize Nao was really going to help himself to all of the danishes. But that wasn't what he noticed - Phoenix had become distinctly aware of when other people were eyeing his boyfriend, and the dumbfounded look on Nao's face said it all. Instinctively, he reached for Oriel's hand, tugging him closer as they approached the boy. He almost missed Nao's answer to his question, and blinked, shaking his head. So this is what Oriel felt like, this possessiveness? No wonder he acted the way he did around Phoenix when other people were interested in him. "That's... That's cool," he finally managed.

He reached forward and pulled the box away from Nao and to Oriel; there were hardly any left. Phen sent Oriel an apologetic look before making introductions. "Oriel, this is... Naozumi." It took a moment to remember the guy's name. "Naozumi, this is my boyfriend, Oriel." In case it wasn't clear enough. "Um... You really like those danishes, huh?" He smiled weakly. Phen wasn't mad, not really - even if he was, Nao was way too adorable to be mad at for long.

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Oriel sighed. "Yeah. It's still sore though." It was going to take some time for the ankle to heal and even more time for it to look normal again. The angry/not-so-angry boy scowled at his lover when he spoke of the treats that were being devoured by the pint-sized brat. "They're expensive, that's why." Whatever, if Phoenix was fine with getting more, then Oriel didn't have any more reason to be upset.

Naozumi hadn't realized he'd been staring at the tall olive-skinned boy enough to be noticed, especially not that it'd been unwelcome. Oriel himself only quirked an eyebrow at the boy's gaze. But the introduction quickly broke him out of his admiring reverie. "Oh." So they were boyfriends? That was too bad. His face dropped a bit at that revelation. He nodded a bit somber and took another bite of the danish.

Oriel, however, was not amused. "This was what you brought me out here for? To show me a vacant-faced kid that likes to steal other people's food?" Though he had to admit the kid was pretty cute. He could be a puppy. But if Phoenix wanted to keep him… "If you want him, you gotta feed him. He's you're responsibility, don't expect any help from me." Oriel pointed a finger in Phen's face to assert that point. "Got it?"