I don't pay twice (Chester)

[Roger Vandelay]

New semester. Last semester, Roger kept reminding himself. It was weird to think that in just a few months, he'd be out of there, on his way to who-knew-where (likely college) and, in all likelihood, losing touch with his current friends. No, that wouldn't happen; he'd still work at the House whenever he could, and as such would likely continue to see many of the familiar faces. Val, Melody, Lucah... they'd all be there. And lord knew Lucy would still be around, bitch couldn't blow her way to a passing grade. That was good: as much as he liked to shake things up, he still did like some constancy.

Classes having just started, Roger was already reeling from the start-of-semester assignments, including chapters to read and questions to answer. Never a fan of homework, he often did it in a public place where he could procrastinate by people-watching and running into friends who might distract him from his homework. He had time to kill, anyway.

As it was an unseasonably warm January day (think fifties), he decided to spend the afternoon in the courtyard. He sat himself down in the grass - tables were for nerds - and spread his books out around him. Then, instead of looking at his books, he looked around, wondering if there was anyone in the courtyard he could bother.

[Chester Douglas]

Chester was getting a little annoyed at how much of a bore his Chemistry teacher actually was. Which was why when the bell rang, his desk was empty even before the bell finished ringing.

Cutting through the courtyard to go home, because why would he stay after a free period?, Chester did not waste his time people watching.

That was, until a vaguely familiar stray thought caught his hearing. It was nothing special, to be sure, but it had caught his attention, and that was worth checking out.

Usually, he would have ignored these stray thoughts but for some reason the familiarity haunted him.

As it niggled at the back of his mind, he walked towards the thought, hoping it was somebody he recognised at least. But as he scanned the place, he saw people he recognised but none matched the thought. And when the thought matched to one person, it was not someone he'd ever seen.

"Who the fuck is that?" Chester asked himself as he probed a little more on the guy. Roger Vandelay. Shapeshifter. Works at La Maison Magnifique. Was he Tanner's friend? How would he even know this guy?

Approaching the boy, he made his presence known with the clearing of his throat. "Hey...do I know you?"

[Roger Vandelay]

Oh, well. Evidently, nobody he knew was around, so Roger decided he would actually do what he'd come to the courtyard to do - or, rather, what he'd come to the courtyard to avoid doing. Shifting to a cross-legged position, he reached for his nearest book and flipped it open. Okay, chapter one, here we go...

Hearing someone clear his throat near him, he looked up and found himself face-to-face with Chester Douglas.

Oh... This is perfect.

He raised one eyebrow as the boy asked if they knew one another. Ah yes, they knew one another, quite well indeed. Roger still remembered the night he met Chester at a nightclub in downtown Pilot Ridge. He couldn't remember the name of it... Jaclyn MacArthur. That wasn't the club's name, but rather his, or the name of the character he'd created for that night. Disguised as a stunning woman, he'd caught this guy hook, line, and sinker, and it wasn't long before they were back at his place getting hot and heavy. Things had gotten weird, though, with Chester accusing him of being a dude, but the two of them had been too drunk to let that stop them. It hadn't been a perfect night, but it had been pretty close.

"You're about to," he replied, lips tugging at a smile that didn't quite manifest itself fully. "I'm Roger." He didn't make any motion to stand; if Chester wanted to continue this conversation, he could sit down. He figured he'd changed enough for this guy already.

[Chester Douglas]

As they spoke, Chester did his usual mind-scouting to get more information on the guy. He almost missed the look the brunette gave him.

Frowning, he stayed standing up and tried to go through his memory bank for the name Roger. The only Roger he knew was a rabbit in a live-action cartoon movie who was married to a buxom redhead. This guy was not that rabbit.

While searching, Chester didn't speak or even look at the other boy so to Roger, it looked like he was staring at the ground, frozen.

And one name hit him. Jaclyn MacArthur. The memory floodgates opened and his bright blue eyes turned sharply to Roger. "You're..."

[Roger Vandelay]

Chester was suddenly standing very still, unmoving, eyes cast down to the ground. Roger watched him carefully, wondering what on earth was going on. The smile that had formed on his face fell as he became a bit confused. Should he call a doctor? Seriously, what was this kid doing - he did not do this when they first met.

Then suddenly his eyes opened, and the shapeshifter briefly wondered if this kid was now possessed. Should he run? The boy opened his mouth to speak, the brunette developed a very bad feeling. If he'd been able to tell that Jaclyn was a guy, then maybe...

"Roger," he replied quickly, thinking on his feet (something he'd gotten very good at over the years). "Roger Vandelay. Maybe you've heard of me?" His reputation didn't precede him as much as he liked to think, and he had a feeling that wasn't really where Chester's head was at, but he was trying to occupy the other boy's brain enough to distract him for a while.

Since Chester clearly wasn't about to sit down, Roger stood up, taking a few steps towards the other. "I'm a shapeshifter," he explained, prepared to give a long list of things people might conceivably know about him. Then he stopped, because he realize that saying he was a shapeshifter was the stupidest thing he possibly could have said to someone who was convinced he'd seen him before.

He was usually more on top of his game than this.

But now that it was out, he decided he might as well go with it. "And I really like boys with big cars," he added with a grin. Chester did have a limousine, after all - was that not enough to give him away? Then again, maybe he really didn't know he and Jaclyn were the same person, in which case he was basically just hitting on this poor kid for no reason.

[Chester Douglas]

"I know your name." Chester said in an irritated tone of voice. "I also know you're a shapeshifter." He continued before closing the gap between them. "I know because I met your twin. Jaclyn MacArthur. Remember? Short skirt, long hair, pretty handsy and lacking completely of a cock?" His words were vulgar but his tone was smooth.

He wasn't pissed. In fact, he was a little impressed. This boy had been staying under the radar for so long after the whole incident that Chester almost forgot. Almost.

"Nice touch with the yearbook signing."

[Roger Vandelay]

Roger quirked an eyebrow as Chester confirmed his suspicion; that he had somehow recognized him as the girl from the nightclub. He tried to remain unfazed, though. "Well, cockiness is my fatal flaw," he shot back simply.

Ah yes, the yearbook signing. Callie had been signing Chester's yearbook and Roger just hadn't been able to resist. It was his downfall, really - a better master of stealth, like that boy he'd met in the laundry room last year (whose name he didn't recall was Lani Hunter) would never do such a foolhardy thing as to sign his own fake name when he didn't absolutely need to. But Roger was just doing this for fun, and he figured he'd give this kid a memento of that interesting night. "They tell me I have a nice touch," he replied, trying to retain the upper hand in this most unusual of exchanges by remaining completely calm.

"What do you want, anyway?" He asked, out of both interest and condescension. "A repeat performance?" He turned away from the boy for a moment, as though this wasn't the most important thing to him right now, looking briefly down at his books. "I can do it, but you'll have to buy me more drinks first."

How long he could keep this up before Chester beat the shit out of him, he couldn't rightly say.

[Chester Douglas]

"Among other things." Chester responded with a raised eyebrow, giving the other boy a once over. He had to admit, the boy was definitely easy on the eyes. As was his female counterpart. The boy clearly understood attractiveness.

That night replayed in his head and he couldn't help but smirk. It had been such a weird night but it had ended on a rather good note. He even remembered to get Alex to send the girl back to wherever she wanted. Oh, not girl...

Roger's question had Chester shrugging. "Nothing. Just wondering if it would actually be a repeat in this body."

It was a bit of a drag that people still thought Chester was a violent person. Yes, he enjoyed hunting, yes he adored playing with his weapons but if anybody got bruised or injured in any way, it would never be by his hand. Unless they asked for it. He sighed slowly and slipped his hand into his pocket.

"Never thanked you for that night." He smirked lightly.